Family Comes First
by ItsACharmedLife
Summary: A mysterious girl comes back from the future. She bears the most wonderful news that the Charmed Ones have ever heard, but under the good news is a dark truth that no one is ready to handle. When more of the Halliwells appear, secrets are revealed. Choices will have to be made. Can the sisters learn from the future or will they repeat their mistakes? Can family truly come first?
1. Piper, I Need You

**AUTHORS NOT: I don't know how I'm going to really finish this story, but if you like it please comment so I know it's good. If I don't get any comments I know it's a bust. But thanks for reading anyways. I do hope you enjoy it though! Remember JESUS SAVES! :)**

PROLOGUE

"_Mommy," the little girl cried into her mother's comforting shoulder, "I don't want to. I don't like it." Their faces floated around in her head and behind her eyes when she closed them. Their screams echoed in her ears. The smell of their blood was still strong on her hands. The taste of it still lingered in her mouth._

"_Oh, honey," her mother rocked her back and forth, "you have to. You see if you don't, you will die and how do you think Mommy could live with herself without her little Cori?" She rocked her trying to get her to stop crying. It was tearing her apart to see her daughter like this. She loved her daughter, more than any other mother in the history of time had loved their daughter. She would do anything for her. Kill anyone. Go anywhere. Do anything. _

_Wasn't that why they were here? Because she loved her children so damn much she hadn't been able to let them go? The girl continued to cry softly. "I know, but isn't there another way? I don't like this way. I still see them. They shouldn't have to die for me to live."_

_She cringed at her daughter's words. She was so intelligent for just being four years old. She was beginning to understand consequences and good and wrong. She had to do something. If she lost her daughter, after losing everything else she had, she didn't know what she would do. She needed her daughter. She pulled the girls face away from her body where they were looking eye to eye. She wiped a falling tear away from her little girl's cheek. "Now you know Mommy loves you right?"_

_The girl smiled and nodded. That was one thing she did know. Her mommy loved her more than anything ever, she had told her that. "And I love you just as much."_

_The woman laughed, "Well, now I know that's not true. I love you all the way to the moon."_

_Cori thought about what her mom had said. "Well," she giggled using the same tone as her mommy had, "I love you all the way to the moon…and back!" she laughed in triumph when her mom just smiled back at her. _

"_I still love you more!" she tickled Cori's ribs until the little girl's face was turning red._

"_Mommy, stop! Stop! I'm going to pee!" _

_The woman laughed and sat the girl back up to face her. "You see? I love you and you love me. So we'll always look out for each other, right?"_

_Cori nodded. _

"_And I would never do anything to hurt you, so you have to trust me," she looked her little girl, who was a much more beautiful, much more innocent, replica of herself. It hurt her to know that she was in pain, physical or emotional, but things had to be this way. She would die if she didn't kill those people. What were their lives to her anyway? Nothing. Family came first. Always. _

_Cori nodded again. A new tear forming in the bottom of her eye. She understood what her mommy was saying. To stay together, she needed to…she couldn't make herself think the word…those people. She loved her mommy more than anything in the world. "Okay, Mommy. I trust you." _

CHAPTER ONE

Piper stared at the dying girl in front of her. She had seen many heart breaking things, even her own sister's dead body, but this was a definite close second. "Leo!" she screamed, "Leo, get your ass down here NOW."

She ran to the girl's side who was breathing like she was being forced underwater. Dark blood ran down her back from the lacerations that revealed the very interior of her body. Sweat ran down her face and blood matted her hair. Her skin was pale, perhaps from the severe blood loss. Piper frowned when she noticed how much blood the girl really was losing. She would be dead within the minute if someone didn't help. "LEO!"

"Piper," the girl rasped raising her head an inch in an attempt to take Piper's. Surprised at hearing her name, Piper took the girl's hand, "Please…I can't…she did this…I'm so close…"

A familiar jingling sound filled the room. Without looking Piper shouted over her shoulder. "Get over here!"

She felt the man at her side and sighed in relief when she saw his hands glow blue.

"No!" the girl screamed louder than Piper would have thought possible for a person in her condition, but it was too late. Shining blue lightening streaks sparked from the girl's back to Leo's hands sending him flying across the room. The girl screamed and collapsed; her entire body twitching from the electric energy now flowing through her body. Piper watched in horror as the currents charged through her body, leaping over the girl's skin from wound to wound. Yet Piper could see that that second of healing had helped. The cuts, or whatever you could call them, were almost closed up. The bleeding wasn't nearly as bad as it had been though she was sure to bleed to death if something more wasn't done soon. Without all the excess blood Piper finally saw what the injuries had been: whip marks. "What the hell?"

"Why…" she gasped even through the pain Piper could see the confusion and betrayal evident on the girl's face.

"I didn't know," she caught herself saying without fully understanding why she felt the need to explain herself to this stranger girl lying on her couch dying in front of her.

The girl shifted her head to look at Piper. She gasped and looked even more confused than before, "Spell," she finally said, "Book…heal."

She heard the sound of Leo getting up and turned to make sure he was okay. He shook his head to clear it and glared at the girl. "Get _away_ from her," he marched over and shoved Piper to where he was between her and the girl. He eyed the girl who was now barely breathing.

"Leo, what're you doing?"

"She's a demon, Piper. That's why I couldn't heal her."

"Leo, look at her. You _did_ heal her, maybe not all the way, but you did."

Leo shrugged, "So she's only half demon. It doesn't change anything."

The girl hiccupped and groaned in pain. Her hands formed fists around the fabric so tight that her knuckles were purple and white. "I don't care," Piper said unable to pry her eyes away from the helpless _innocent_ dying on her couch, "I'm going to help her." She headed towards the stairs, shaking away from Leo's restraining hold.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"To get the Book to find the spell that will heal her," she said confidently glad she was able to decipher the girl's plead.

"Piper, there's no spell that can heal a demon."

"Watch," Piper bounded up the stairs with a confidence that she didn't quite understand. She had never heard of the spell or saw the spell the girl was talking about but she knew it was there. Call it intuition. Leo muttered something under his breath, but Piper was too determined to care. At least he wasn't resisting anymore. She reached the attic and raced toward the Book. That girl's life depended on speed. She gasped when the pages started to flip by themselves only to land on a page with no heading only a spell. "Thanks, Grams," she smiled proudly at Leo, "Obviously Grams doesn't think she's a threat."

Leo didn't say anything. He knew this was right. That wasn't only electricity that had shot him back, it was power. That _innocent_, as he knew Piper thought of her as, wasn't just another demon. She was powerful; he had _never_ felt so much power in his life. Never. It scared him, and he had only felt a pinch of it. If it had only been power though, that still wouldn't have made him want to let that _thing_ in there die, it was _dark_ magic. Unlike the Charmed Ones, he had never been turned evil, but he had been around long enough to know how hate, anger, and pain felt like. Even in that small dose of what he had experienced, he knew that saving that _thing_ was the wrong thing to do. It was evil. Pure evil.

"Piper, stop," he sighed all she did was continue to write down the spell. "Piper, that _thing_ in there isn't an innocent. I felt it."

At that her head shot up, "What do you mean you _felt _it?"

"When that bolt hit me," he noticed her cringe and frowned, "I felt whatever it is that's in it. It's dark, Piper. I mean _evil_. I can't even describe it."

"I don't care," she finished writing down the spell and walked past the stunned Whitelighter.

"Piper, don't!" he yelled watching as she walked out of the attic.

"I'm not listening!"

"Then I'm calling your sisters!" he threatened knowing that that probably wouldn't do any good, but it was all he had left.

"Good!" He could tell she was already down stairs. _Damn it_, he cursed and orbed out to find the only two people in the world that could talk some sense into Piper Halliwell…or at least they could try.

Piper didn't care if this girl was supposedly evil. Leo had been able to heal at least a little of her which meant some part of her was good, and she couldn't explain it but she felt like she _had_ to help her. From the second she had walked into the Manor and saw her lying on the couch, barely alive, Piper knew she had to help her. She couldn't live with herself if she didn't.

Piper ran to her side. Her heart dropped when the girl's body wasn't heaving up and down showing she was breathing.

She fumbled with the spell in her hand.

"_Through fire and flames_

_Let love come back_

_And heal the wounds _

_Of this punishments act."_

Piper let out a sigh of relief when she saw the wounds begin to grow together. Blood still covered most of the girl's body, keeping Piper from fully inspecting the girl's progress. Her eyes didn't open, but her breathing had returned to within normal range…if she had just run a marathon. Her hair was matted with sweat, and Piper could still see the pain on the girl's face. "What happened to you?" she asked not expecting an answer, merely musing.

The girl's head twitched in her direction though. Piper nearly fell over from the sudden look of torture on her face. It was as if she was reliving the experience that had sent her to death. Her face was drawn and haunted. Piper was glad her eyes were closed afraid of the pain she would find there. She made sure the spell was still working and went to make a basin of water to clean her up. She was left to deal with the shock as the water was filling the bowl.

The girl couldn't have been over sixteen or seventeen years old. Even with the years of her own gruesome experiences, she couldn't fully understand how something like that could happen. The stripes had literally gone to the _bone_. Blood had poured through the wounds, which Piper realized now that the girl was safe, was going to leave nasty stains on her furniture. She didn't know how the girl got here, and after she found out _who_ she was, that was next on the list.

_How had she known my name?_

Piper knew that her and her sister's were numero uno on the demonic hit list, and many demons probably knew their names, but this girl had called out to her as if she expected…needed her to help her. That girl _knew_ her, but she had never seen her before in her life.

The water was done. She turned it off, grabbed a rag, headed into the living room only to stop dead when she saw her sisters hovering around her innocent. She recovered quickly though, "Move," she ordered setting the basin on the floor beside the couch.

Her sisters complied, probably still in shellshock from the horrible sight of the girl.

"What…happened…" Phoebe breathed unable to process what she was seeing. There was a _child_ in front of her looking as if she had been through hell and back literally. Every once in a while, the girl's body would jerk from an unknown adjutant. Blood covered every part of her body. Fresh wounds were healing before her eyes, but they were still horrible. Sweat rolled down her face. A look of pure terror marred her features which Phoebe would on any other occasion thought could rival the most famous super model there ever was.

"I don't know. She was here when I got home. It was much worse," Piper sighed when the girl winced as she washed the warm water over her back. At this point, the couch was a loss. Blood ran off revealing the new scars underneath. Piper gasped when it became obvious that there were other, older scars all across her back.

Paige was _livid _with anger. That was someone's _child_. She was the newest witch, but she felt she had seen plenty in the past years to never be shocked by anything else the world could throw at her. Boy, had she been wrong. She clasped her hands into fists in order to not throw something across the room. Her whole body shook. She was going to kill the son of a bitches, no scratch that. She was going to find them, and do to them what they had done to this _baby._ Even though she couldn't be more than seven or eight years younger than herself, she was baby. As a social worker, Paige had saw and heard about horrible things being done to children. It was way beyond her how someone could do this to another person that had been entrusted to them someone who couldn't defend themselves. But the way Leo had described the situation, Piper was about to unleash Pandora's Box all over again. Looking at this helpless, dying girl, Paige couldn't find a hint of evil. It didn't matter if she was evil though; she had seen the look of determination in Piper's eyes. There's no way the eldest Charmed One was letting this one go. Paige didn't want her to let this one go.

"How. Could. It. Be. Worse." Paige said through gritted teeth. Clenching and unclenching her fists to relieve _some_ anger. She honestly felt sorry for the next demon that crossed their path. Paige had a lot of anger at the moment, and she had known her sister's long enough to know they felt the same.

Piper didn't answer her sister. She wouldn't be able to keep the horror out of her voice. As she was washing off the new blood it became clear as hell that this girl had been tortured for most of her life. Layers of scars striped her back all over; looking over them, Piper's heart broke. She studied the rest of her body to make sure that there weren't any other injuries that needed taking care of. Piper's heart completely shattered. The girl had on loose shorts that revealed most of her legs, if not too much, but that wasn't what caught her eye. There were scars _everywhere._ The girl's skin was ridged all over from the thick scars. She looked as if she had been thrown into a shredder and lived. Her thighs were covered in dark purple bruises. _She had been beaten_. Piper almost sent the water basin flying across the room. "I'm going to _kill_ whoever-," she unable to finish. She was going to hunt down these monsters and make sure they never saw the light of day again.

Cori felt the warm water washing over her body, and sighed in relief. If she had the strength left in her, she knew she would be screaming. But her body was too focused on surviving to leave any energy for anything else. Everything was cold which only seemed to sharpen the pain. Her lungs wouldn't comply with her need for oxygen. It was like her chest and throat was shriveling up leaving her no way to breathe. She needed to sit up or she would suffocate. The girl moaned and pulled her arms in trying to let the pressure off her chest. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She could still feel each strike piercing her skin. Her skin was going to rip off her back and cause her entire body to fall apart. Needles pricked over and under skin. She could feel the electricity moving through her body, playing with her strength, trying to find a weakness to kill her. It was looking for her heart; the only problem was she had blocked off her heart a long time ago. The bruises on her legs and shoulders pounded against the little movement. She whimpered when her muscles ripped from the stress, and she fell back onto the couch.

Burning acid filled her mouth. If she didn't get it out, it was going to tear her face apart. She spit it out and sucked in a deep breath of air.

Phoebe cringed at the site of the blood-filled vomit. "I'll get a towel," she said desperate to help.

"Me too," Paige said ignoring the look from Phoebe. She needed to get out of here, or _she_ was going to throw up. And that wouldn't help anything.

Piper continued to swipe the cloth across the girl's back in slow motions. Most of the blood was on her couch now, but she kept going because it apparently soothed the girl's pain. She had tried to sit up, but fell back down and threw up, so she was close to coming back to consciousness. Maybe talking would help, "Hey, Sweetie."

Cori heard Piper's voice, sweet and caring, but something was missing from it too. She wanted nothing more than to answer the only person that had ever cared for her, but her mind couldn't find the words in the chaos it was now. Thoughts, memories, emotions rolled through her head bouncing off every side and not making any sense. So she did the only thing that she could do and grunted just to let Piper know she was listening. The rag stopped on her back, then started its rounds again.

_Up, down, up, down, up, down._

Cori tried to concentrate on the movements, but her head reeled from the pressure of doing anything.

"How you feeling?"

Her body automatically reacted to the question. She chuckled/groaned as a response, trying to convey as much sarcasm into the action as possible.

Piper laughed, relieved that the girl was recovering.

Phoebe leaned against the counter and slid down to the floor. She covered her face with her hands trying to get rid of the images she had just witnessed. "What the hell was that?" Paige whispered, but Phoebe could hear the anger in her sister's voice. "I mean, we have seen a lot, but…that was…that…" it wasn't often that Paige found herself at a loss for words, but nothing could have prepared her to see _that_.

"That was torture," Phoebe gasped between sobs. "Someone tortured that girl."

Paige sat down beside her sister, ignoring the nauseous feeling in her stomach. She wrapped her arm around Phoebe comfortingly. "You okay?" She knew how sensitive Phoebe was when it came to children. Working in her career though she knew that you never really got used to seeing a child in pain.

Phoebe shot a look at her sister. It didn't matter if _she_ was okay. "I'm fine." It was a lie. If she was keeping track of the days that had changed her life the most, this was going in the top ten. She jumped up and away from her sister. "We're needed in there. I better get that cleaned up in there before Piper has an aneurism."

Paige knew her sister was lying; Phoebe's hands were shaking and she looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Yeah," was all she said though because what Phoebe had said was true. They had a job to do. Phoebe grabbed a towel and nodded at her sister. Paige breathed in a fresh breath of air before following Phoebe into the living room which ranked of vomit and blood.

* * *

><p>Leo paced in front of three of the other Elders. "What are we going to do?"<p>

"What we have always done in the past," one of them said.

Leo glared at Gered, "This isn't something that we have ever faced before." He shook his head. Nobody understood. He himself didn't understand. His mind couldn't even comprehend the evil that he had felt. "That thing down there, in the Charmed One's home, with my _sons_," he shuddered at the thought of that thing being near his children, "is _evil_."

"The Charmed Ones have faced great evil before, Leo, and I'm sure this won't be the last time either."

"Not like this they haven't." he would be damned if he was going to let _anything_ happen to his family.

"Or maybe you're just being paranoid because of-," the woman Elder cut herself off at Leo's withering glare.

"Don't finish," he growled. "This is not paranoia. We have to do something."

"And what do you want us to do? We can't just go sending in an army every time something happens at the Charmed manor," Brant said. He had been friends with Leo for a long time, but ever since his future son had come back to the past to fix Gideon's betrayal, something the Elders still hadn't recovered from, Leo had been off the chain paranoid. "We have other responsibilities."

"More important the future of all good?" Leo shouted causing some of the other Elders to stare at the four.

"Leo, calm do-,"

"NO!" he shouted. "I guess I'm just going to have to do this myself."

"Don't do anything stupid," Brant warned, "You're walking on thin ice as is."

"Are you threatening me?" How could the Elders be so blind? They had just escaped one supreme evil and now they were going to let another one right back into the Charmed One's lives. He was not going to let anything evil near his family ever again.

"That's not what he meant," Gered sighed rubbing his temples. Leo was wearing everyone thin these days. "You just need to calm yourse-," but before he could finish Leo was gone.

* * *

><p>"How's she doing?" Phoebe asked. She looked away from the girl's body scared that if looked again she would find more evidence of the hell she had been through.<p>

"She lost consciousness again, but her breathing is normal at least." Phoebe could already here the exhaustion in Piper's voice. Piper let out a sigh of relief, "The spell worked though. The wounds have closed and the bleeding has stopped."

Piper's words caught Phoebe's attention, "Spell?"

Piper didn't stop massaging the girl's back with the rag but turned and looked at her sisters for the first time. She could tell they were traumatized as well. Without having to say a word, she knew that they were going to do whatever they had to to protect this girl. She caught herself sighing; at least she wasn't going to be in this alone. Leo had disappeared, probably trying to get Elderly backup. Something that made Piper sick at her stomach. She and her sisters had been fighting the Elders at every turn and now the love of her life was one of them. Fate had a dark sense of humor. "Leo tried to heal her, but when he did…" she shook her head. She didn't know how to describe what happened, "it backfired or something. _Lightening_ shot out of," she motioned at the girl, "and flew him across the room. Then it turned on her."

Phoebe and Paige tried to process what they just heard. "Lightening? Like electrons whizzing through the air?" Paige said trying to imagine it. A smile crept on her face despite herself, "And hit Leo? Man, oh man, do I wish I could have seen that one!"

Phoebe hit her younger sister, "Paige!"

"Oh c'mon, you're telling me that you wouldn't have enjoyed that, just a little?" she knew she had her sister's trapped. Leo was family and they would never do anything to hurt him. But sometimes the guy could be too big for his own shoes. Paige had never fully forgiven for choosing to become an Elder over taking care of his family though and- a thought popped into her head. "That's some firepower."

Piper nodded having already thought of that, but Phoebe frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Leo is an Elder now. Even though we know the Elders are a bunch of pansy, ass-kissing, losers," she smiled at Piper's warning glare," and you know it's true, but, Phoebe, they are pretty powerful. Remember when Leo tried to heal Cole?"

Phoebe frowned at the name but nodded. He shouldn't still be able to get to her like that. His name shouldn't have that much control over her. He was dead and gone. She had moved on with her life, but sometimes she wondered if maybe they had tried just one more time…if somehow she had been better… "Yeah, I remember."

"It was like that times a hundred," Piper said remembering the feeling of the electricity shooting through the air. "If wasn't aimed at the father of my children, I would have been impressed." But it had been. She was petrified the moment it happened. Leo was her love even if they weren't together. They would always love each other no matter what happened. The Elders had even tried to break them up by erasing Leo's memory and sending him half way across the country, and it still hadn't been enough. Piper frowned, but it looks like they succeeded in the end.

Phoebe studied the girl's face, afraid of the ruin the rest of her body was in. It was beautiful that was one thing. Even with her eyes closed, Phoebe could see that the eyes were big and almond shaped. Long eye lashes were pulled together with sweat and blood. Her heart shaped lips were down casted into a frown. What looked to be light brown (it was hard to tell from all the blood) hair cupped her face. Instinctually, Phoebe reached out and pulled a strand of hair out of the girl's face. She grimaced at the touch and Phoebe quickly pulled away. Sorry she had done anything to add to the pain the girl was already in. Who could do this to someone especially a child? She understood this was a cold world, and the magical world even harsher, but _this_? What had she done to deserve this? Nothing, Phoebe decided. No one in the history of the world deserved the punishment this girl was going through.

"You said something about a potion?" Paige asked pulling both sisters out of their thoughts.

"Yeah, after Leo tried to heal her," Piper glared at Paige's smirk, "she said that there was a spell in the Book. Well, it was more like she tried to tell me. All she really said was spell, book, heal."

"How did she know there was a spell in the Book? Only Halliwells know what's in-," Paige stopped, and all three sister's stared at the girl on the couch, Piper still rubbing the warm water on her back.

"No…" Phoebe gasped. It couldn't be. Surely, this wasn't a Halliwell. Too much had happened in the last few months for them to nix time travel off the list of anything. Chris had come back to save the future and keep Wyatt from being turned evil. If she was from the future, what could she be here for?

"Don't jump the gun," Piper warned. "There could be other explanations."

Paige rolled her eyes at her eldest sister's denial. "Like what?"

Piper didn't say anything and Paige nodded. "Well, gang, looks like we have another mystery to solve. The case of which Halliwell is it!"

"Hold on!" Piper snapped at her sister causing both Phoebe and Paige to stop and stare at her. "Leo said she was evil," she gritted, "so evil he didn't even want me to heal her. We fixed the future. _No_," she glared at her sisters, "Halliwell is evil. They can't be." Horrible thoughts were running through her mind. What if it hadn't been enough? They had saw Wyatt turn good, but what _if_? She couldn't bring herself to believe it. Someone was wrong whether Leo or her sisters she didn't care. Someone _had_ to be wrong. She couldn't live with the fact that she had failed again.

Cori's defenses were down, and up to this point she had been able to hold off the memories. Something had to give though. It seemed as her body was healing her willpower was fading. She felt the presence start to trickle out into her body. All within her powers were screaming at her to kill. They wanted blood. Her body was _tired, _not just from the last _family visit, _she hadn't _ate _in almost three months.

Three months, that's all it's been? She searched through the last months that felt like an eternity. Everything had changed, and not for the better. At least not for her, it had for the world. And that's what she was fighting for. Her mother had always said family first, but she knew that was a flat out lie. It was everyone else then family. The greater good as the Elders liked to rub in her face every chance they got. A wave of electricity shot through her veins, weakening her tumbling defenses. She couldn't do this for much longer. The walls she had set up around the evil part of her were chipping away piece by piece. Soon it would find the cracks and there would be no stopping it. She desperately tried to build them back, willing her mind to respond; already she could feel the darkness leaking out into the rest of her body. She fought against it with all of the strength she had left.

_I will not give in. This isn't me_. It was trickling out of her heart, spreading towards the rest of her body. It flexed its reach, constricting her chest and setting it on fire. She screamed. Fire. It was burning her from the inside out. Everything, every pain, every lash of the whip, every attack, every fight, all rolled into one were nothing compared to this. She tore at her chest, ignoring the weak protest of her shoulders. "Get it out!" she cried. "Piper, please, get it out of me!" The fire burned brighter at her words, relishing in her pain. It seared her heart. Her finger nails dug into her skin drawing blood. The burning was the only thing she felt. It spiraled into a point at her heart taking away the air. She gasped for breath with no reward. It was suffocating her. Smoke filled her throat not allowing any air inside. Her chest imploded under the pressure, but the fire burned on. White hot irons pressed to her heart and stopped its beating.

"What the hell?" Piper jumped up at the girl's sudden scream.

"Get it out!" she yelled, "Piper, please, get it out of me!" Piper didn't know what to do. The girl started to writhe on the couch, clawing at her chest. she ripped huge scratches where her heart should be. Paige reacted first.

"We have to stop her! She's going to kill herself!" Paige grabbed both of the girl's wrists and tried to control her arms.

"No!" the girl shrieked, sounding as if she was drowning. "Get it out! Stop the burning, please. Make it stop! Piper! Piper! Piper!" She called out to the eldest living Charmed One, but Piper just stood there. She ran every way she could help through her head and not one them actually made sense. Yet this girl was counting on her. Her maternal instincts kicked in. She clasped the girl's face in both her hands. "Honey, stop. You're okay nothing is going to happen to you. You're safe here. I'm here; it's Piper, Baby. Nothing is wrong." Piper prayed to God that this would work. It had to work.

Cori heard Piper's voice. She felt hands searing her face. Hot iron hands held onto her wrists preventing her from ripping her heart out of her chest. She tried to get away from them but they held. Her skin was melting from her face, she felt it. But she had heard _Piper's_ voice. She tried to concentrate on that instead of her heart's burning. Piper the one who had saved her from becoming the monster she was _destined_ to be. She was here. The burning dulled a degree but it still scorched her chest. She screamed silently unable to suck in any air.

"Stop it now, Baby. Nothing is wrong," Piper's words rang in her head. Each word diminished the fire as her heart filled with the love she felt for Piper. It was the one thing that kept her afloat when everything else was lost. As if in one last attempt to take over her body, the fire leaped forward, bigger and brighter than before. She cried against the pain and suffocation. Her lungs begged for new air, but the smoke blocked her throat. The fire scorched through her chest leaving behind a trail of flames that shattered her heart. It was going to win. She couldn't hold it off.

"Nothing is wrong," Piper repeated, but the girl hadn't changed. Her mouth was open in a silent scream. She wasn't breathing. Piper panicked. "You have to stop this!" She bawled tears forming in her eyes. "I need you."

_I need you_. Piper was here. The fire sparked, culminating into one final flare. It was going to set her entire body on fire, but Piper was here. _She wouldn't let anything happen to me; she needs me. I need to stay alive for her. _The fire receded at Cori's thoughts. Flames tried to latch onto something, but Cori pushed them back. The effort used the last of her air supply. Her mind swirled and went black from the sudden exertion. "Piper, I need you." Then there was nothing.


	2. Trust and Betrayal

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So here's the second chapter. I'm sorry it's so sappy but it will make sense by the end…I think. There are some things I haven't decided about yet. I hope you like this though! I know it's kind of jumpy in some parts. Sorry. Remember: JESUS SAVES!**

CHAPTER TWO

_Cori stared into the eyes of the woman who was supposed to love her more than any other mother had loved their daughter in the history of the universe. If there was one thing you could count on from her mother though, it was lies. "Hello, Cori." Her voice was ice just like her heart._

_Cori looked away trying to keep the hurt inside her heart away from her eyes. She wouldn't let this woman see her cry. She had promised herself that a long time ago. She recovered and met her mother's cold gaze. "Hey, Mom."_

_The woman looked at her daughter and felt her heart shattering. She did love her daughter though she knew Cori was convinced otherwise. Everything she did was for her daughter. Did Cori not see that? The woman studied the younger version of her. She was an unhealthy thin that revealed her shoulder bones. Her face was drawn making her look more like a skeleton than a person. Her eyes were unbending walls formed by the attempt to keep her inner turmoil locked up, but the woman could see through the façade. This was her daughter, and she was hurting. _

_She allowed herself to let down her emotional blocks, leaving herself open for heartache, but maybe, just maybe, Cori would do the same and they could return to the way things had been._

_Cori saw her mom crumble and it took all her self-control to not run and embrace her. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she did still love her mother. "Don't…" she whispered._

"_Please, Cori. I need you."_

_Cori knew it was true. Her mother wasn't the same person she had been before. She had gone crazy. The Underworld and the world above had felt her mental break. Even now, when she was the Queen of the Underworld and supposed to have everything together, she was falling apart. It didn't change anything though. Cori tightened her hold on her emotions and straightened up to her full height. "Then stop this. Come back. We can fix this!"_

_The woman looked down. "We tried. This is the way it has to be."_

"_No, I can't believe that! Remember all the good you did! Remember what you're sisters died for!" As soon as she said the words, Cori knew it was the wrong thing to say. She went flying across the room before she had time to defend herself. This proved how far her mother had gone. Six months ago she wouldn't have sent her a mean look. Cori looked at her mother, refusing to let the pain appear on her face. Her mother was glaring at her, but she could see the regret already in her eyes. Cori shook off the dust and stood up. "There are things that are worth fighting for."_

"_What about dying? Because that is what is going to happen." Her mother's face morphed into one that Cori didn't recognize. Her eyes looked terrified, like she was seeing her greatest fear in front of her. Her face was haunted by the same grief, causing the skin of her face to pale. Her lips curved down which made her cheek bones become much more prominent. "I can't lose you to."_

_Cori shook her head and turned her back. The words on her lips breaking her heart more than she would ever admit. "You already have." She shimmered out, her tears falling at the echoing of her mother's words._

"_I'm doing this for you!"_

* * *

><p>Cori moaned. She felt as if she had been run over a train, repeatedly, then torn apart by some mad scientist only to be put back together by a third grader who had no idea what he was doing. Her chest had a hollow feeling. She could hear herself breathing and felt her body moving up and down. She was laying on something soft, which usually meant she was in the Manor. She wanted to open her eyes and sit up, but every muscle in her body screamed in protest when she even tried to move her fingers. Memories of the last twenty-four hours floated in and out of her head which hurt too much to focus on anything for more than a few seconds. Apparently, she hadn't received a warm welcome home. She was used to that by now. After Cori had walked out that last time, her mother had gone completely insane. She truly believed that Cori was trying to betray her, something that split her already broken body in half.<p>

How had things gotten so messed up? Oh yeah, she did the right thing. That never worked out…not for a Halliwell at least. Looking back at her family's past, she understood where her mother was coming from, she really did. But Cori also knew she was wrong. Killing innocent people just to insure that you never had to feel any emotional pain was beyond wrong…it was evil. From the very moment Cori had been born though, she was taught that she was evil. She had used her powers for evil, killing innocent people, allowing her mother to manipulate her in order to take over the Underworld thereby guaranteeing their safety. Even through all that, Cori couldn't hate her mom; she was her mom. That was enough. Yes, she would fight her until the end and she definitely didn't love her the way she had before all of this had happened, but she loved her. And that was enough.

Piper watched the girl sleep. She had sent Paige and Phoebe to bed hours ago, assuring them that she would be okay. She just sat there staring at the girl, wondering who she was, how she knew her name, and about the spell, why Piper was so important to her when she had never seen the girl a day before in life. She wracked her brain trying to remember the face from somewhere. It seemed oddly familiar but she couldn't place it for the life of her. She sighed. That wasn't the only thing troubling her though. Her sister's words kept ringing in her head. There really was no other explanation of who this girl was except that she was a Halliwell from the future. Piper's head hurt just thinking about it.

_What had they done wrong now?_ Even without knowing the story, Piper was already blaming herself for what had happened to this girl. If Wyatt was still evil despite their best… "Please, God, don't let it be true." If she knew that she had failed again…Piper's heart couldn't take it.

"Mom…" the girl whispered again, "Piper…" she had been muttering that all night. More sweat broke out on her forehead. Piper brushed the cool rag across the girl's forehead. She shivered but stopped fussing. She had been doing that all night. _Mom…Piper…_

Did that mean that Piper was her mother? Or was it one of her sisters? They had discussed it a little while her sisters were still down here, but none of them really wanted to talk about it. None of them would be able to bare it if it was _their_ daughter. Piper shuddered at the thought and unconsciously studied the girls marred body. Even in the dim light you could see the ridges that the scars formed across the girl. Tears dropped from her eyes. This was her family. Something else had gone wrong. They had failed again. Piper held her face in her hands and let the sobs come.

"No," she cried, "no, no, no, no, no. Not again. Please, God no."

Piper jumped when a soft hand squeezed her shoulder. She whirled around to see Paige looking back at her. "I know," her sister whispered.

Piper sat back down and buried her face in her hands. "What did we do? Why is this happening?"

Paige didn't have an answer. It was something she had stayed up all night trying to figure out. How had they messed up this bad again? Were they just destined to fail? No, she frowned, if that was the case this girl, her _family_, wouldn't be lying here, almost dead, trying to make things right again. Paige's head pounded though, and she thought the guilt was going to eat her inside out. "I've been asking myself that all night."

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" Phoebe croaked coming down the stairs. Both her sisters could tell by her voice that she had been crying just a moment ago, if not all night.

"Phoebe…" Piper whispered and met her sister at the bottom of the stairs wrapping her in a huge hug. "We're going to fix this."

"And then mess it up again?"

Piper was caught off guard by her sister's comment. "No," she said with an invisible fire burning in her eyes, "we're going to get it right this time."

Paige watched the embrace between the two sisters and for some reason found herself feeling jealous. She knew it was stupid and childish, and that she should be grateful for having such great sisters. Yet every now and then, during times like this, she was reminded of how much time she didn't have with them. She would never have the bond that Phoebe and Piper had together or that the other two had with Prue…another sore spot with Paige. She had only seen pictures of her deceased sister. The Elders and other deceased family members wouldn't let her and her sisters see Prue for some BS reason. Paige smiled remembering the numerous times she had snuck up to the attic and called her mom back, only to spend the whole night talking to her long lost mother. She had wonderful memories with her biological family, but sometimes she still felt like an outsider.

Phoebe wiped the fresh tears from her eyes. Her gaze drifted to the couch where she knew their family member was sleeping. A lump formed in the throat. "How is she?"

"She's slept well for the most part. Every once in a while she'll get a horrible look on her face and start fidgeting around, but a wet rag usually stops that." Piper chose to leave out the _Mom…Piper_… part. That was something that she would really like to keep to herself until her sisters _needed_ to know.

Piper grabbed Phoebe's shaking hand and pulled her over to the love seat. She sat down beside Paige, wrapping her arm around her youngest sister and forcing Phoebe to sit on her lap. She needed them. She needed to know they were there and nothing was going to take them from her. Paige propped her legs up on the coffee table, and Phoebe swung her legs over her sisters resting her head on Piper's shoulder. Paige leaned towards her eldest sister and sighed. "I love you guys," she said feeling guilty about her jealousy just a moment ago.

"I love you," both of the other Charmed Ones yawned. Paige yawned just a second later. Phoebe watched as the first rays of sun started to peak over the horizon and yawned again.

"One of us should stay awake just in case she wakes up," Paige whispered already half asleep. The warmth coming from her sisters easing her mind into sleep.

"I will," Piper knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Perhaps because it had been her son that had turned evil, or because she was the only Charmed One yet to be a mom, but this situation had shook her to the core.

Phoebe nodded against her shoulder, "Wake me up in an hour and I'll take over."

Piper couldn't help the smile forming on her face. "That'll be the day."

Paige chuckled at her side, and then didn't move. One of Phoebe's hands hit her lightly in the stomach then rested there for the rest of the night. Piper sighed.

"Piper," Paige said through a slight sleep.

"Yes, Paige?"

"Don't worry about anything. We're going to fix this, for real, this time."

Maybe it was because Piper was half loopy from no sleep or maybe it was the way her sister was so sure of them, Piper believed Paige. She pulled her closer and found one of Phoebe's hands, clasping it tightly in hers. "We have to," Piper whispered. She kissed Phoebe's forehead and the top of Paige's head. It was times like this that she missed Prue the most. She needed a rock, something solid holding her to the ground. She knew she was supposed to be that for Paige and Phoebe and her two sons. Piper wondered how Prue had done it all those years. Tears trickled down her cheeks at the thought of her lost sister. Piper took a deep breath. "I love you all."

* * *

><p>Leo hung his legs over the side of the platform, letting the cool night air wash over his skin, causing goosegumps to form on his arms. He was sorry for the way he had acted towards the Elders. He knew he should have been more controlled, but just the <em>thought<em> of having another source of evil anywhere near his family…not again. He would not let it happen again. Something about this was eating at him though. That _thing_, he refused to call it a girl, had known about a spell inside the Book of Shadows. How was that possible? Demons couldn't even get close enough to read it; much less know its contents.

And why was Piper being so protective of it? He knew that every Charmed One had been dooped by evil in the past, but this took it to a whole other level. He looked over the city imagining it being anything less beautiful that this. It was an awesome sight to see San Francisco from this view. Cars, filled with people, with families, drove innocently below him. They would never know how much he had given up making sure that their ignorance and peace stayed that way. They would never know how much heartache it took to keep the world from going to hell. Sometimes he did wish that magic was known to the world. Maybe it would make things easier…he caught himself. No, Prue was dead because of magic's exposure. Witch trials would be brought back. The world would go into chaos.

It was about to anyway. That's why he was up here. He always thought clearer up here, away from the world. Seeing that evil so close to his family, it brought back horrible memories of his oldest son…evil. He couldn't let that happen again. He wouldn't. He just had to make Piper see the threat that that thing was.

Leo had orbed into the Manor a few hours ago. He was going to try and talk some sense into Piper, but when he had finally mustered up the courage to step out into the living room to talk to her, he caught himself just staring at her. She was beautiful. He knew she could be his, but he had placed his bets. Sometimes you just had to focus on the big picture, the greater good. It broke his heart, but it had to be done. He had studied her face, frowning when he noticed the strain that had not been there just a short year ago. There were dark circles under her eyes that were now a permanent fixture to her face. Her lips, _his_ lips, had been turned down in a thoughtful frown. He could guess the thoughts running through her head. They were the same as his.

They both shared more than either would verbally admit. But it was there. They still loved each other. Beyond the world of magic and heartache, they loved each other. Leo sighed putting his elbows on knees and resting his head on his palms. "I love you, Piper." The first beams of sunrise rose above the horizon making Leo smile to himself. He let the warmth wash over him, letting all the stress of his life fade away. Yes, there would always be things worth fighting for even if it was just lost love and sunrises…he could fight for that.

* * *

><p><em>Prue mustered up the best I'm-not-hurting look she could when her friends and family were leaving. It was her sixteenth birthday party. It had been wonderful. The cake was chocolate everywhere, something every that had every teenage girl in the room licking their lips. She had gotten all the presents she wanted, except a new car of course. Her friends were wonderful. Her family got on her nerves, but they were hers. They were her rocks though usually they thought it was the other way around. She depended on them.<em>

_She waved good-bye at the last friend and turned around to go help Grams clean up the mess. _

_In the kitchen, her grandma was cleaning up dishes, even though Prue remembered there being a lot more dishes needing washed than there was now, from just thirty seconds ago, she didn't press it. It meant less work and the sooner she was alone. "How did you like you party, Prue?"_

"_I loved it!" She lied through her teeth. Her heart was ripping out of her chest. She was going to lose it soon. She could already feel the tears forming. Prue hardened her resolve. "Everything was perfect." Lies._

"_I'm glad," Grams smiled. Prue deserved to have something go right in her life. She knew that her daughter's death and Prue's father leaving had been hardest of all on her oldest granddaughter. A thought occurred to her. She didn't know how much time she really had left on his earth. She wanted to make sure that someone knew or at least had all the pieces of the puzzle. "You know family is the most important thing in the world."_

_Prue cringed at Grams' words trying not to be obvious how hard the words were tearing at her. Didn't Grams know her well enough by now? No of course not. No one in her family knew the real Prue. That Prue had died with her mom, and left with her dad. "I know, Grams."_

"_Sometimes family grows in ways you would have never thought possible."_

"_What do you mean?" she said drying the plate Grams had handed her._

"_I think you'll find out one day," the oldest living Halliwell witch said smugly._

"_Grams," Prue smiled mischievously, "you're not pregnant are you?"_

_Her grandmother scoffed. "Like I would go through _that_ again."_

_Prue nudged the only parent figure she had left, "You know you love us."_

"_I love you all," she whispered where Prue couldn't hear her._

* * *

><p>She felt herself coming back to consciousness. Her head weighed a hundred pounds more than the rest of her body. She hoped this time she would be able to come out of the blackness. Nightmares of her mother, Piper, and innocents ran over and over behind her closed eyes, but she didn't have the energy to open them. She took in a deep breath preparing herself for the onslaught her senses were due for. She blinked her eyes open and closed them immediately. The light sent white hot flashes back into her mind, sending waves of pain through her body. Another spark of electricity shot across her back. She yelped.<p>

"Hey, Honey!" Piper chirped. Somehow she had managed to get up without waking up Phoebe an hour or so ago. Both her sisters were still asleep on the love seat though Piper could tell by the expression on their faces it wasn't a good sleep. Piper smiled looking at her sisters. Phoebe still had her legs swung over Paige, lying almost sideways towards Phoebe who had her head and arms hanging over the arm of the sofa. It was comical if nothing else. She took the girl's hand smiling when the girl's lips twitched into a smile. "It's Piper," she felt stupid for saying that. If it made the girl feel better she would do it.

Cori smiled hearing Piper's voice. She wanted to wake up, but she didn't know if she could take it.

"Wake up, Sweetie. I'll make breakfast!"

Cori laughed. That was such a Piper thing to do: bribe with food. Her whole body still ached as if she was twenty thousand leagues under the sea and being crushed by the water pressure. So she had a big imagination, but that's what it felt like. She groaned and attempted to open her eyes again. The light didn't hurt as much this time. She still had to flutter her eyes to get used to it. "She's awake!"

Phoebe rolled off the couch onto the floor. "What!"

Piper busted out laughing, hiding her teeth behind her hand. Paige sat up, rubbing her eyes. "You know, they're easier ways to get people up."

Piper rolled her eyes and turned back to the girl who liked like she was going pass back out. The girl stared at Phoebe and Paige as if they were on fire. Her face was more pale than when she was bleeding to death. Her eyes were filled with horror. "What are _they_ doing here?"

Phoebe and Paige exchanged a glance at each other. Piper could already see the defensive stance Paige was taking. "_What_?"

Cori couldn't do it. She couldn't take the betrayal from Piper of all people. If she lost her…her heart finally broke, the pieces falling out for everyone to see. She tried to build the pieces back up, but they were too small and she didn't have the energy. She had fought the ones she loved for long enough, but Piper had been her rock. And now she had betrayed her. Cori let anger build the walls back up. She had dealt with betrayal before. It had caught her with her defenses down, but she would be damned if she let it get the best of her. She jumped off the couch landing against the farthest wall from the stunned Charmed Ones. All of her walls back in place. Her body screamed at the sudden movement, but adrenaline kept her from losing consciousness to the pain.

"Piper," she met the woman's horrified stare. Even with all her walls, she couldn't stop a little of the hurt from seeping into her voice.

"What the hell…" Phoebe was stunned. She couldn't move; she didn't even know if she was breathing. It had broke her heart to see that girl in so much pain, now, awake, the girl acted as if _Phoebe_ had done it too her. A shudder went through her body. No, no matter what the future held, she could never do that to another person. What had she done though? She looked at Paige who was glaring at the girl, but Phoebe could still see the confusion and desperation in her eyes. It had hurt her too to see the child so scared of them.

Cori felt herself losing control. She could control the hurt, but she had been through physical and emotional hell the last twenty-four hours. Her defenses against her_self_ weren't as strong. She could feel the power starting to seep into her body. Her hands twitched with the itch to send this whole Manor into oblivion. _Piper had betrayed her_. The sheer force of the words threatened to send her to the ground. The power whispered temptations into her ears, showing her visions of what she could do to her enemies. All she had to do was give in, and everything would be alright. The power was there she just had to use it.

_Self-control is knowing you can, but not doing it anyway_. Those were Leo's words. Sure, she despised the man who was constantly making her life ten times harder, but it was good advice. She would never tell him that though. The adrenaline in her veins made her jumpy. She needed to release some energy or she was going to blow. She screamed, throwing her arm to the side. The couch she had been laying on flew a few moments ago went flying across the room, shattering the stair case. Objects all over the room started to float midair.

"Woah!" Piper yelled flexing her fingers at the girl. It was reflex. She needed to freeze the threat to her family.

Cori screeched when she felt Piper's power hit her body. It wouldn't do her any arm; she knew that. Not only was she a Halliwell, but she was the most powerful evil alive. It ripped at her heart though. She glared at the shocked Piper. The objects flew around the room causing the Charmed Ones to take cover. "What do we do?" Paige called to her sisters. How the hell had this happened? One second they were all feeling sorry for this girl now she was trying to kill them. Her mind was still trying to process what the girl had said. _What are they doing here?_ The hate and fear had been all too present in her voice and face. Had she done this to the girl? Was she possible of such an act?

Over the chaos they heard Chris wail. Wyatt screamed for Piper. The objects fell to the ground. Cori glared upstairs. "Paige!" Piper yelled. Paige knew what her sister was telling her: go protect her children. She nodded and was gone. Cori turned at the sound of orbs. She gasped when she saw the color of the orbs: white. _Good._ She faltered a step. _How?_ Before she could recover, Paige was gone.

Piper was going to be damned if she let any_one_ touch her children, even if they were family…past, present, or future. Piper used the girl's apparent surprise to her advantage. She raced to Phoebe who was hiding behind the loveseat. Cori saw Piper run towards Phoebe. "Why are trying to protect her?" this was all so wrong. Piper said she would never do anything to hurt her. Was everything she knew a lie? She knew what _they _were, yet Paige's orbs were white meaning she was _good_. And why were their children in the Manor? What if there was an attack? Cori cringed at the thought of children having to face such torture.

Piper stopped at the girl's words. "She's family." The girl's defensive stance was still strong, but Piper could see that whatever shock she had by seeing Phoebe and Paige was gone. She stood up, and Phoebe followed. Phoebe clasps Piper's wrist for support. Piper could only imagine the horrific thoughts running through her sister's head. She would be thinking that what happened to the girl in the future was her fault because of the way the girl had reacted. She knew that couldn't be true though. Phoebe was born to be a mother. She needed a daughter and would never do anything to hurt a child.

Cori eyed Phoebe's hand touching Piper's. "How could you do this?" The hurt was barely noticeable but it broke both the Charmed hearts.

"Do what?" Piper needed to know why this girl was acting this way. She knew her sisters, Phoebe better than Paige, but she knew her sisters. They would never do anything to harm _anyone_, especially family. _I never would have thought Wyatt could be evil either though_. She couldn't stop the thought from poisoning her mind. Ever since she had learned that her son had been turned evil, though it was fixed now, she had doubted every belief she had except one: family first.

"Raise them from the dead."


	3. No One Stays Dead For Long

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: You've gotta love summer break! Here's the third chapter. I really enjoy writing this story, and if you like reading is PLEASE COMMENT. I'm not sure how I'm going to do the rest of the story so I am very open to suggestions if anyone has any. As always, remember: JESUS SAVES!**

* * *

><p><em>Piper stared at her two sisters, her heart falling into a million pieces. She kept her breakdown away from her face though. Even if they were on opposite sides of a war, she was still their big sister; she still needed to be strong for them. Guilt threatened to tear her apart. She had failed them. She hadn't been strong enough, and she had lost them.<em>

_Phoebe looked at Piper with as little emotion as possible. She could see through her sister's strength façade like glass. Her sister was hurting, and it tore Phoebe up. Piper had chosen that hurt though. She had chosen to stay behind while she and Paige reunited their family. It was Piper's fault…but Phoebe blamed herself every moment of the day._

_Paige crossed her arms in front of her chest in an attempt to keep herself from reaching out to her lost sister. She knew Piper would never accept the gesture, saying that _they_ were the lost ones, but it didn't stop the urge. They were family. No war, or even death, could stop that. Piper was the chink in their armor; if they had Piper everything would be worth it. She hated the feeling that she had chosen one sister over the other. It didn't matter though. They had all placed their chips. Now they were just waiting for the cards to be dealt._

_No one knew what to say. All three ached for the time when nothing was held back between the sisters. When it had been them against the world…literally. Now, they couldn't even say each other's names without tears and pain coming._

"_What do you want?" Paige said; she knew that Phoebe wouldn't be able to talk until she recovered from the shock of seeing Piper. She tried to separate herself from the person in front of her, but some things just can't be erased._

_Piper sighed. This wasn't right. Her and her sisters had been best friends. They had loved each other more than anything else in the world. Now Paige was looking as if she had never known Piper a day in her life. She knew it was a mask, but it still hurt her more than she wanted to admit. She stiffened. She wasn't here for her. "If anything happens to Cori…it's on you." The words ground the pieces of her heart into dust. How had her family become this way? She knew the answer, but it was too much to think about right now._

"_We. Would. _NEVER._ HURT. HER."_ _Paige gritted. Who did Piper think she was? Who did she think they were? Did Piper really think that they were capable of such an act? Paige knew the answer: yes. In Piper's eyes, they had committed the ultimate act of betrayal. It wasn't like that though. How did you decide between one family member and the other?_

"_I'm just saying." She eyed her younger sisters noticing how strained they looked. Everything about them screamed help us, but Piper didn't know how. She grimaced at how far they had drifted._

"_Is that all?" Paige hissed acidly._

_Phoebe glared at Paige. How was she talking to Piper like that? This was their sister. The person they had, she almost said grown up with, but that wasn't true with Paige which was part of the reason they were in this stupid situation. "Piper…" Phoebe whispered frailly. It took all of Piper's willpower to not run to her sister and comfort her, rocking her back and forth like she had done when they were kids._

_Paige though reached out and took Phoebe's hand and squeezed. Phoebe seemed to draw strength from the act. "Please…" she whispered a little louder, "we miss you."_

_Paige looked at the ground unable to hide her emotions any longer._

_Piper felt her walls falling down. These were her sisters. Her _baby_ sisters. They needed her, but more than that she needed them. Family came first. It was the motto that had been drilled into her head since she was a child. Now though, she wasn't so sure it was true. What if your family turned their back on you and everything you stood for? What if they had started a war that sent the entire world into chaos?_

"_I miss you too," this time she didn't try and hide the pain in her voice. Phoebe met her eyes and without words, they understood each other perfectly. Neither was going to give, so those words changed nothing. "I've delivered my message."_

"_Piper, please, don't go…" _

"_Yes, Piper come join us," a woman entered the chamber. Piper instantly turned away. She would not look at her. This wasn't the person she had known. This wasn't the person she still loved. Her chest felt like white hot irons were roasting her heart alive. Did she have to go through this too? "Oh, c'mon, at least look me in the eyes."_

_Piper shook her head. She didn't have the strength for that. "I love you all," she breathed and threw the transportation potion on the stone floor._

"_No!" both Paige and Phoebe screamed, but it was too late. She was gone._

* * *

><p>Paige heard silence downstairs and that scared her more than anything. Her sisters were down there in danger. She couldn't wrap her head around the situation. If their assumption was correct than that girl was one of their descendents from the future, yet at the sight of her and Phoebe she had lost it meaning she had no idea where or when she was. They lived here. Every Halliwell descendent would know that. Unless they had done something in the future…Paige caught her thoughts. Paranoia had always been a Halliwell thing. They didn't even know for sure if she was from the future, though there was little doubt that she was. She needed to slow herself and focus on the task at hand. Wyatt had his shield over both him and Chris when Paige had orbed in. He let it down, but Paige had told him to leave it up. She didn't know what was happening downstairs, but she was terrified. <em>Please, God, don't let me lose them. Don't take them yet.<em> She prayed silently.

Phoebe fell the floor. At first Piper thought the girl had done something to her, but she realized that Phoebe was shaking all over. Her faced was drained of all color; she was just staring at the girl. "No," she breathed, "You're lying."

All the anger and betrayal left Cori's face to be replaced by confusion. Was this some kind of trick? Because it really wasn't funny at all. So many things didn't make sense. Why Piper acted like she hated her, Paige's orbs still being white, children in the Manor, and, Cori noticed, Piper didn't have any scars from the attacks. This wasn't right.

"You had better get to explaining yourself," Piper threatened, but even she could hear through her strong tone. She was confused and scared and didn't know what to feel. This was getting out of control so fast…maybe she shouldn't have healed the girl. No, she had to. End of story.

Cori rubbed her palms to her eyes. The adrenaline seeped out of her system, leaving her feeling hollow and even worse than before. She slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor. "This doesn't make any sense…"

Piper seeing that the girl wasn't a threat at the moment allowed herself to focus on Phoebe. She bent down embracing her shaking sister. She could feel Phoebe shaking under her. Her grip on Piper was weak. "It can't be true…we can't…no…" she didn't know why it was shaking her up so much. She knew she had to die sometime, but hearing it…it made it all so definite. And the way the girl had said it, it was like having her around was bad. What had they done? What had she done that was so horrible? She needed to know.

"Phoebe," Piper comforted. It hurt her to see her little sister in so much pain, "we're going to fix this okay? Don't worry about it alright? I've got it under control." Piper knew that was a lie. She had no idea how to even start fixing this. They didn't even know what was wrong. She needed answers. She turned to face the girl, still holding Phoebe tightly. "Who are you?"

Cori met Piper's eyes and had to look away. She couldn't handle the distrust that was there. Seeing her and Phoebe so close sent shivers down her spine. What was Piper thinking? Yet Piper was acting like she had never seen her before in her life. Cori's whole body shook. This wasn't right.

"I asked you a question."

Cori gathered all her strength into her voice and looked again at Piper. "My name is Cori. I…I'm your niece…" Why didn't Piper know who she was? Why didn't anything make sense? It was like she was in a completely different world…or time…the girl gasped causing Piper to eye her warily. "No…"

Piper closed her eyes at the words. Phoebe took in a sharp breath. There was a good chance that that tortured girl was her daughter. More than that though, she hated Phoebe. Guilt overpowered her. She lost all her strength. She felt Piper's strong hands holding her and leaned into Piper's shoulder and cried. This couldn't be happening. Not to their family. Hadn't they been through enough? Piper knew the question she should ask next, but she couldn't bring herself to, not with Phoebe in the room. She knew it would break her sister's heart if the girl was her daughter.

There were so many questions that Piper needed answered before any of this made sense.

"What time is it?" _Cori _whispered almost too softly for Piper to hear.

"2005," she answered.

Two years before she was even going to be born. Cori's head shot up, her heart was beating out of her chest. She couldn't be this lucky. No way. "What month?" She didn't know if God heard the prayers of evil but she prayed that it wouldn't be too late anyway.

"August."

Her hope disappeared to be replaced by a bigger hole in her chest. She was stupid to believe that it would be that easy. It had already happened. The world was already doomed. She felt deflated. It had been a long time since she had hope in anything and the sudden disappointment brought her deeper into the reality that nothing would ever work _for_ her.

Piper saw the girl's eyes return back into the pained version she imagined them as always being. But her eyes had been _hopeful_ when she told her the year. It meant something she knew it did, but whatever it was had either already happened or it was too late to stop it. Something that terrified Piper. Why would she come back when it was too late to change anything? The way she was acting though, it sounded as though she didn't even know she was in the past…or present…or whatever.

"Why?"

Phoebe had recovered from the shock and sat up by herself, still holding Piper's hand.

They didn't know, and Cori didn't know if she could bear to be the one to tell them. Really all she cared about was Piper. She didn't want risk causing everything to happen earlier. She didn't want to cause any unnecessary pain. It was too late to change anything anyway. Why had she been brought back in time just to watch things fall apart again? How was she supposed to get back? Her chest constricted just thinking about _her_ being out there. Pain, remorse, guilt, anger, love, hate played around in Cori's heart. She didn't know what to feel. Her life replayed in her head.

_Betrayal_. Looking back, that was the theme of her life. Because of her, no because of her mother, their family had been torn apart. There was no peace in the world. Lies were told more often than the truth, and children were forced to grow up faster than it was fair. And Cori was forced to live everyday with visions of families being murdered at her hands. She clenched her hands into fists and banged them on the floor trying to relieve the tension building in her body. She wasn't going to lose control this time; her mother was out there. She had to be stopped, one way or the other. And now she could do it. She stopped herself from dreaming of her finding her mother and stopping her from turning the world upside before it was too late. Plans never worked out, not for a Halliwell. Halliwell's fight unwinnable fights; they fight until there is nothing…except family.

"_Why?_" Piper asked again annoyed at having to ask the same question twice. Piper needed to know. If they were going to prevent what happened to Cori, they needed to know what they were up against. It was a sad world when you were used to relatives from an evil future coming back to change it. Piper only wondered how she had messed up this time. Were they heading down a dead end road that only led to a future that no one wanted to live in?

How was Cori supposed to tell her family what the future was like? She knew that Chris had come back to change the future in which Wyatt was evil, but what about a future where their family was completely torn apart by evil? How could she explain what her mother had done? She wanted nothing more than to shout it to the heavens. She wanted them to know, so they could share her burden. But it wasn't fair to them.

"It's a long story," she finally said fearing that Piper would yell at her if she postponed her answer any longer.

"Is the coast clear?" Paige yelled down the stairwell. The silence had been too much for her. She needed to know her sisters were okay.

"Yeah, you can come down. Leave the kids up there," Piper wasn't going to risk Cori having another…whatever that had been and hurting her kids. It just wasn't going to happen. Paige orbed downstairs because half of the stairs were crushed under the couch. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Kids these days. What _are_ we going to do with them?"

Piper knew that sarcasm was Paige's cover for how she really felt, and the worse the sarcasm, the more pain she was in. It was Paige's way of dealing with things that she was afraid to face.

"We figure out who she is yet?" Piper heard the barely auditable crack in her youngest sister's voice.

"No," Piper answered glancing at the girl to see her reaction to the question. Cori's eyes widened then she saw Piper looking at her and stared at the floor. She heard Paige's loud sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry about your house, Piper," the girl said. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

"It's nothing a spell can't fix," Paige's smile never reached her eyes.

One thought train kept running through Cori's head. _My mother is out there. She's out there. I could stop it. I can change this. I _will_ change it. I have to._

Paige sat down, cross-legged, closer to her sisters than the girl, but almost right in between the two groups. It comforted her to know that she could protect her sisters. The girl seemed a little preoccupied. "What're thinking about?"

It took Cori a second to realize that Paige was talking to _her_ and another second to swallow the sarcastic comment she had in her throat. This wasn't the Paige had turned on Piper, she had to remind herself. "My mother," she watched as all three expressions turned grim.

"We might as well get this over with," Paige muttered. Beating around the bush was never her style. They needed to figure out what they were going to do, fix the future, and move on with their lives. Though something inside Paige told her that was _a lot_ easier said than done and there was going to be a lot more heartache along the way. "Who _is _your mother?"

Phoebe tightened her grip on Pipers wrist causing the eldest living Charmed One to bite her lip from the pressure. Cori didn't look at any of them only the ceiling. Her heart yelled at her to tell them. She needed them to know, so they could help her. But another part of her told her to keep her mouth shut. Obviously there bonds were still intact. Cori remembered the Piper in her future. She looked so different from the one in front of her now. Her Piper had scars that matched her own, except from the whip marks, those were gifts from her mother, and looked so much sadder than this one. That was the only way to describe it. Her Piper was sad, alone, unhappy, betrayed. This one knew loss, but she wasn't alone. She still had two of her sisters left. No matter how much she despised Phoebe and Paige, almost to a point of hate, for leaving Piper, she couldn't bring herself to separate the bond the sisters still had. A tear rolled down her cheek. She looked into Piper's eyes begging her to understand. "I can't…I can't tell you."

* * *

><p>Leo woke up feeling the heat of the August sun on his face. <em>Damn it<em>. He had slept through the early morning. The sun was all the way over the eastern horizon. His dreams last night hadn't exactly been the greatest, and he felt himself needing more sleep than before. He rubbed his hands down his face in frustration and groaned. He still didn't know what he was going to do. First things first, he should go make sure that his family was still okay. Even in his sleep, he would have heard their calls which either meant they hadn't needed him or…he couldn't think the words. He was about to orb when a voice stopped him. His heart sped up. _No,_ _it couldn't be_.

"Hey, Leo," Prue said. She saw his body stiffen and smiled. Life was great and she was going to enjoy every second of it from now on. "So you're an Elder now, huh? Never thought I'd have one of them in the family."

He was scared to turn around and find that this was just a dream. If so, it was a nightmare. Prue was back. _Prue_. How was that even possible? It couldn't be…witches couldn't be raised from the dead. There were consequences. He grasped the side of the bridge, building all of his strength. He stood up and slowly turned around. Leo almost fell of the bridge from shock.

"Prue…how?" he gasped. She was just as beautiful as her remembered. Piper was his heart; he didn't look at Prue or Phoebe or Paige or any other woman in that way anymore, but he knew that Prue was beautiful. Her black hair fell down slightly past her shoulders. Her eyes were vibrant with _life, _something that caused his heart to break again. He only imagined how the sisters were going to take it. They were going to lose their sister all over again, only this time it was going to be much worse.

He loved Prue. She would always be his sister. He had followed her all her life. He knew her more than most people, but witches weren't supposed to be raised from the dead. When the Charmed Ones had brought back Melinda Warren, Leo had been hyperventilating on the inside. Magic had a way of making sure that the magical community didn't take immortality where it wasn't meant to be. If a witch rose from the dead, things happened inside her…horrible things that would eventually consume them, destroy the person they had been.

"Don't look so sad, Leo. We knew that no ever stays dead in the family for long," she grinned. This was a lot more fun than she thought it was going to be. It felt great to be back here, in San Francisco, her home. Seeing Leo only reminded her of the reason she had come back: her family. She imagined what Piper and Phoebe were doing. Her heart, something she hadn't had in a long time, sped up. What about her other sister? What would Paige think of her? She was suddenly very self-conscious. "How are they?"

Leo knew who she was talking about. Her sisters were the world to Prue. They always had been. "They're doing good," he thought about the evil that was in the manor and frowned.

"What?" Prue said instantly worried. She hadn't been in the afterlife for close to a month now. She had no idea what was happening to her sisters, and it was scaring her _back_ to death. When Leo didn't answer her, she was more frightened, "I swear, if anything has happened to them…" she would never forgive herself. She should have gone to her sisters immediately after she was revived, but there were things she needed to take care of.

"Nothing's wrong…it's just…_how_?" How could _they_ let this happen? Didn't Patty and Penny know what would happen to their descendent and what it would put the rest of their family through? Yes, of course they did. Then why was Prue here?

Prue shrugged her shoulders. "Details…details." The way Leo eyed her she knew he wasn't going to let it go. Prue didn't want to talk about it though because the truth was she didn't remember. She should remember how, but she didn't. One second she was enjoying the afterlife and the next she was standing in the middle of the park her and her sisters used to play at when they were little. It had taken her days to even remember who she was. She was going to go find her sisters, to show them she was alive again, but before she knew what was happening she was in the Underworld fighting off demons twenty-four seven. That experience had changed her, though she hated to admit it. It had taken her weeks to escape and she had to some things she never wanted to think about again.

"I don't remember," she muttered.

Leo tried to find the lie on her face but couldn't. She was telling the truth and that scared him more than a lie would. If she didn't remember, that probably meant some evil behind it all. But what evil could bring witches back from the dead? He grimaced because he knew which evil. Another thought occurred to him. "How did you get _up_ here?" Prue was a powerful witch, but she had no transportation powers…as far as he knew.

Prue frowned at Leo's question. It brought back horrible memories of the last few weeks. "I don't remember," she lied hoping he would buy it. She didn't know if he did, he dropped the subject anyway something she was thankful for.

"Prue," he said, just saying her name brought tears to his eyes. This should be one of the best moments of his life. His dead sister-in-law was standing in front of him in the flesh. But he knew her future so he found it hard to be optimistic.

His tone scared Prue. "Leo, what's wrong? Is something wrong with Piper?"

He shook his head, "Did anyone tell you what happens to witches when they come back from the dead?"

Maybe it was the way he said it, or the way he wouldn't look at her, or the way he didn't even seem happy to see that made Prue shrivel on the inside. "No," she whispered. "What?" She had already decided that whatever it was, she was going to fight it and she was going to win. That's what she did; perhaps, her cockiness had gotten her into some sticky situations, death being one of them, but it had also saved her on more than one occasion. It was her best weapon…her best defense. Deep down inside her, she doubted herself, but doubt only left pain behind so she had left doubt behind a long time ago.

Leo shook his head. What was he supposed to do? If he let the sisters see Prue, it would only end in more heartache, but if he kept Prue away and they ever found out…they would never understand and Piper would never forgive him. This was their sister. He remembered how devastated Piper was after Prue's death. It had taken her months to accept and even longer to move on. Not that he blamed her. Prue had been the leader, and after her death, Piper was expected to step up. Piper had lost her shield from the world. She had lost the one thing she depended most on. It had changed Piper; everyone close to her knew that. What would it do to her this time? He shuddered at the thought. He had to make Prue see that this was going to put her sisters through emotional hell.

"They…" he didn't know how to describe it without sounding cryptic, "they turn, Prue…they just…everything about them changes. They become…evil," the word slithered of his tongue. He didn't want it to be true at all. He didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't just kill Prue. His heart stuttered inside him at the thought. But if she was left alive, she would just become a _monster_. Leo closed his eyes trying to wish this fate away. He had only seen this once before, when a dead witch was left on earth for too long. She had gone crazy craving power. He prayed to God that this wouldn't be Prue. He wasn't ready to condemn his sister-in-law just yet. They just needed to get her back into the afterlife.

Prue tried to take in what Leo had just said. This wasn't the welcome home she was expecting. Evil? Prue was a lot of bad things, but she wasn't evil. She could never be that. She wouldn't allow herself to become that. She would fight until her dying breath against it. She was strong. Prue hardened her heart and stared at Leo. If it meant being with her family, she could fight anything magic had to throw at her. She could be strong for her family. Her family was her rock. "I can fight it…for them."

Leo had to smile. This was Prue. He knew she would do anything for her family. Maybe she could fight against the evil that Leo already knew was growing inside her. He knew it was a lie. Prue was strong, but there was only so much a person could take. Perhaps, if they destroyed the evil that had brought her into the world, she could return to the afterlife. He was pretty sure he knew which evil it was too. He had to keep Prue away from there at all costs. "Maybe you won't have to, but, Prue, you will have to go back."

"No!" she screeched. Leo jumped at her sudden change in mood. "I came back for them. I'm not leaving." Was he crazy? Those were her sisters. She was never going to leave them again. Then and there she made a promise to herself that no matter what happened, her and her sisters were going to stay together and was going to tear down _anyone_ who stood in her way.

"Pru-," but he couldn't finish. Prue waved her hand sending him over the side of the bridge. She knew he could orb and tried to find the white lights in the sky. The sun blinded her eyes.

"You're wrong, Leo!" she shouted. "I can do this!" She didn't see any hint of him still being around so she sighed. "I have to. I can't lose them again." And with that, she burst into flames, leaving behind nothing but a small singe mark on the metal of the bridge.


	4. Why?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Who's ready for a future chapter? Me! It goes back and forth between Prue and Piper, sorry if it's confusing. Thanks for everyone who's reading this. My email is full of people adding it to their story alerts. Thank you so much! Please comment if you like it or have suggestions or want to critisize something! JESUS SAVES JESUS SAVES!**

_The three people around the table quieted when Cori shimmered in. The two men looked away from their cousin. They knew why she was here; they had been there. "Cori!" Piper cheered. She jumped up from the table and went to hug her niece. She stopped when she saw the expression on her face. "What happened?"_

_Cori shook her head. She couldn't do this to Piper. Looking into her aunt's eyes, she almost cried. Not because of the loss she felt, but because she knew it was going to kill Piper. No matter what her sisters had done, Piper had always loved them. And she loved Cori too despite her past. She tried to imagine her aunt's eyes without the tortured, tired look that always seemed to haunt Piper: they reminded her of her mom's eyes._

_The girl cringed. Piper was nothing like her mother. Piper was strong. Piper was still fighting. Her mother had given up the fight a long time ago. Maybe that was another reason Cori was scared to tell Piper. What if she lost it like her mother had? Cori couldn't lose Piper too._

_Piper grasped her niece's arms and pulled her in a tight hug. Cori had been through so much. Hell, they all had. That was the future she lived in because of…she couldn't even think the name anymore without crying which she would not do in front of Cori or her sons. She had vowed a long time ago that she was going to be strong through all this. People depended on her, and she wasn't going to let them down this time. "It's okay, Sweetie. Just tell me what's wrong."_

_Cori tried to keep her voice strong, but some things just can't be said without sadness, "Paige and Phoebe…they're dead."_

* * *

><p><em>Prue leaned over her desk with her face in her hands. This wasn't supposed to happen! This was supposed to unite their family and now she had no one! The images of Phoebe and Paige's cold bodies plagued her mind. Her chest was on fire. The loss of her sisters had shattered Prue. She was supposed to protect them. She was their big sister, and she had failed. Because of her, they were dead. She hit her fists against the top of the desk, leaving indents in the wood. Her sisters, her baby, sisters were dead because of her. It hurt to breath. It hurt to think or move or do anything, but she hadn't cried. Even if they were dead, or her <em>enemy_, she would be strong for her sisters. It just hurt so damn much! She flung the desk across the room. It struck the far wall smashing into splinters. She screamed letting all the pent up anger, guilt, betrayal, and loss leave her body. She screamed because it was the only thing she could do. She had nothing left. She slumped to the floor, closing her eyes trying to replace the image of her sister's dead bodies with anything else._

_Her chest caved in leaving her gasping for air. She fought away the tears that were threatening to fall. She had a family, at one point. Sure, things had to be done to make sure they stayed together, but she had had a family. Prue had loved her daughter more than she had ever thought possible; she still did. She thought her daughter had loved her too…then she had betrayed her. She chose Piper over _her._ Prue screamed again. It felt as if the world around her was caving in, culminating all its pressure into one point: her heart._

_Piper. Why had her sister acted like she had? They could have been a family again, and no one would have been able to stop them. They could have been safe and happy. They could have lived the lives they were supposed to live. _

_Could. Could. Could. Could. Could._

_It was a useless word but one Prue found herself using all too much. She had to deal with reality right now, and right now reality was a nightmare. "Mom!" Prue shouted. She needed someone to be here with her. "Grams! Phoebe! Paige! Piper!" No one answered she was all alone. "Cori…" she whispered, finally allowing a single tear to roll down her cheek._

"_Mom?"_

* * *

><p><strong>YEAR 2023<strong>

Piper was going to go crazy. She paced up and down the hallway trying to keep the horrible thoughts running through her head at bay. Her instincts told her something was wrong, and she had learned long ago to trust her instincts. "Chris!" she shouted finally coming to the conclusion that something had to be done. If something happened to Cori…she didn't want to think about it. Her heart couldn't bear any more loss. "Chris, come here NOW!"

Chris Halliwell knew that tone in his mother's voice. Something was wrong. He sent an athame across the cavern. It planted perfectly into the demon's chest who burst into flames then he disappeared into millions of blue and white orbs. He landed in front of his mother. By the look on her face he knew what it was, "What happened to her?" Chris understood probably better than anyone else the bond between his mother and Cori, and what Cori was going through. Even after the future was changed, he was still plagued by the memories of what it had been. Not that _this_ future didn't have its own nightmares. All he had done…everything he had gone through…only to have the future ripped to shreds again. But he was still fighting alongside his mother and siblings. He wouldn't give in…he couldn't.

"I don't know. She didn't hasn't come home since yesterday morning, and…I'm worried." She was more than though; she was terrified. Over the last three months, ever since her sisters had _died_, Prue had gone insane. Her chest pounded from the constant hurt of knowing all her sisters were lost some way or the other.

Chris could see his mother's break coming. It had to sometime. She had been so strong when Cori told her about his aunts. She had comforted _them._ He knew it had broken his mom way more than what she was letting anyone else see. She thought she had to be strong for them. If anyone had the right to go crazy, it was his mother. But she hadn't. She had stayed strong, at least on the outside, for what was left of her family. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her shaking under him. "It'll be okay. We'll find her."

Piper stiffened, hardening her heart against the pain. She fought back the tears and put all her defenses back in place. She had to be strong. Piper tried to pull away from him; he shouldn't see her like this. But when she felt the warmth of his body, the love emitting off him, she needed that. She needed someone to hold her for just a second. She sighed. "I know we will." That feeling in the pit of her stomach didn't go away. Something was wrong about this whole situation. Piper should have never allowed her niece to go into the Underworld. Prue had eyes everywhere. Piper didn't want to think about what Prue would do to Cori if they found her…the last time her niece had barely survived.

Piper shook her head and finally pulled away from her son cringing when her fingers ran over the scars that matched her own. She looked him in the eyes. She could see the full effect the war was having on him. Chris had never known a life in which there wasn't a war. His eyes were drawn and tired. The youthful spark that should have been there was replaced by the hardness that this world required. She could see pain in those eyes, and that hurt her. It was her fault. "I'm sorry, Chris," she whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't give you a better future."

"Stop it," he ordered, "This," he motioned around him, "isn't your fault. Do you understand me?" _Damn it_. Why couldn't she understand? None of this was her fault.

"I'm going to find her," Piper stated pulling completely away from Chris. He stood there shocked. Where had that come from?

"_What?_ You can't go out there alone!" _What if Prue finds you? _The words had been on his lips, but he had caught himself.

Piper walked into her bedroom and pulled out her "hunting" clothes. She was still reluctant to put them on though. They were demon clothes that she had stolen from one years back, but also they were very revealing. Piper was getting close to her fifties, not something she liked to admit; these clothes weren't something she would have worn twenty years ago. Yet here she was slipping them on. If there was any good that came out of this war, it was that it kept her in shape. She had more muscle tone than she had ever had in her whole life.

"You can't go out there, Mom! I won't let you!" Chris yelled from the hallway, preferring to keep the image of his naked mom out of his nightmares.

Piper rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to get a chance to stop her. He didn't understand that she needed to know Cori was okay. And if she wasn't, she was going to save her. If that meant facing Prue, than she would do it. Piper hadn't seen her sister since before Phoebe and Paige had died. Her big sister…the one she had always looked up to…_NO! _She stopped herself. _That wasn't Prue. _Her sister Prue would never do half the things this one had. Leo had been right, and they had all been too blinded to stop her. Piper had been too blind.

With her outfit, if you could call it that, intact, she grabbed the potion belt she always kept by her bed and fastened it over her shoulder. "I love you," she said loud enough for him to hear then threw a transportation potion on the ground, disappearing into the Underworld.

"Damn it," Chris muttered. If anything happened to her…he shook his head. Thinking like that never got anyone anywhere. His mother had been right. They needed to find Cori. If nothing else for his mother's sake.

Chris orbed out of the Manor in search of his renegade mom. He felt sorry for the first few demons that got in her way. She was a woman on a mission, but more than that, she was an aunt on a mission.

* * *

><p>Prue sat along in her office, contemplating over the world. She propped her legs up on the desk and leaned back in the chair, folding her hands behind her head. She closed her eyes banishing away the images of her sisters. This wasn't the time. She heard the sound of jingling bells and huffed.<p>

"Prue," a girl whispered. She needed to talk to her aunt it looked like she was asleep. If so, she would leave her be. Her aunt hadn't slept in, well, she couldn't tell you the last time her aunt had slept for more than twenty minutes.

"Yes, Kat?" Prue opened her eyes and smiled at her niece. Her heart ached seeing how much like Paige the girl in front of her looked. Prue knew it was her fault her niece's mother had died. She hadn't been there to protect them and now they were dead. She beat back the pain into the corner of her mind. She couldn't let Kat see her weak. She had no right to be; her family depended on her. But all she had ever done was let them down…

People had talked about her aunt going crazy, but the ones closest to her knew the truth. She was heartbroken. Seeing her aunt's eyes now, Kat wanted to comfort her, but she knew the gesture wouldn't be accepted and she would be told to leave. Prue thought she was fighting a war on the outside, but Kat knew the war her aunt was facing on the inside was much worse. Ever since…three months ago, Prue had secluded so far into herself that no one was able to pull her back out. She had consoled the brokenhearted children of her sisters all the while falling apart on the inside. Prue wasn't going to last much longer the way she was going. "We searched the entire Underworld. The blood to blood spell didn't work either. We can't find her anywhere."

Prue closed her eyes quick. A sharp pain stabbed her heart. Her daughter was missing. "It's all my fault."

"No," Kat said sharply. "It's not. It's hers. She made t-," she stopped at the glare her aunt was sending her.

"Don't finish," Prue gritted. "Leave."

The young witch hesitated. "We're here for you, Aunt Prue." And left.

Prue laid her head against the cool wood of her desk shuddering back tears. What the hell was she supposed to do now? She had done everything she could to protect her daughter and it hadn't been enough. Cori had brought her to this point. She had to understand that all of this was for her. Prue had to do what she did…Cori needed to understand there were boundaries that couldn't be crossed. And Cori had crossed a _big_ one. Prue had to punish her. It was either that or death. Her heart stopped just thinking about it. Maybe she had pushed Cori too far, but Prue would do _anything_ to get her daughter back.

_I need to find her. I need to bring her back._ She lit up in flames and was gone.

* * *

><p>Saying that Piper hated the Underworld was an understatement. She would have blown the place up a long time ago if she had the power. She smiled at the thought. <em>That would solve a lot of problems. Not all but some. <em>The cavern she was in was almost too dark to see anything and it spelled like it was the garbage dump of the Underworld. Everything was quiet. She grimaced at how loud her footsteps echoed across the room. She was a sitting target here, but that was the point. She heard the unique sound of demons shimmering in. "Well, well, well…look who's snooping around the Underworld."

Piper turned around slowly. She wasn't scared of these demons. This war had turned her and her entire family into trained demon killers. She could tell by looking at the three that they weren't going to be a challenge. This worked to her advantage though. Low level demons knew all the rumors, and that's what she needed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, showing she wasn't scared. "I thought maybe you guys were missing me." Energy balls formed in the hands of the two side demons. Piper rolled her eyes. "Guess not."

"Boys, boys," the demon Piper assumed was the leader said, "chill. I may be a demon, but I'm not stupid. We don't have a prayer against a Charmed One…" he smiled at Piper mischievously, "though they are becoming a dwindling race." The other two smiled.

Piper felt like she was going to crumble into a mass of body parts. She tried to move, but nothing would work. Her heart pounded inside her chest, ringing in her ears. She couldn't react to the energy ball flying straight at her chest. She blinked when it dissipated before reaching her. The shock brought her back to reality. She looked around to see her ally. "Chris," she growled, "leave."

"And let you get yourself killed? No way." Chris went to stand by his mom, ignoring her glare, and focusing on the fight. He hated fighting alongside his mother. It wasn't that she was bad; hell, Chris would say she was one of the best fighters the family had. He had been surprised to orb in and find her mother about to let a weak energy ball hit her. He hated fighting with his mother because it reminded him of a different time, when his mother had died trying to protect him. He shook away the memory that never happened.

"I was doing just fine," Piper glared at her son, but turned back to the demons who were looking extremely dead to her at this point. There was no way in _hell_ she was going to let them live. But she needed her son to leave. If her plan worked, which she knew it would, Chris couldn't be anywhere close.

"I could tell." He sent an electric bolt that hit one demon scare in the chest. The demon burst into flames before he even had time to scream. The remaining two tried to shimmer out.

"Oh, no you don't!" Piper screamed, freezing both of them in their tracks. She walked up to the leader, and waved her hand in front of his face. He looked around frantically finally focusing on Piper.

"Hey, you know…you know I was just kidding right? Bygones?" he chuckled nervously.

Piper drew the athame from her boot and twirled it around in her hand. The demon whimpered. She used her free hand to blast the other frozen demon into oblivion. "I'm going to say this one time, to one demon." Piper gritted not allowing her pain to touch her face. "No one, _no one_, talks about my sisters. If I even here a whisper of it, I will personally come down her and kick their asses. Got it?"

The demon nodded vigorously. "Yes, ma'am. I do. I'll tell everyone. No one talks about-," he stopped when Piper gripped the athame tighter.

She turned around, releasing the demon from her hold. He instantly shimmered out. "What?" Piper grinned at her son who was shaking his head.

"Theatrical much?"

Piper shrugged. That wasn't what was important now. "Chris, you need to leave."

"What? Why? I just saved your life!"

"I don't care." Piper walked past her son started down the hallway leading off from the cavern. She had to duck under a stalactite. She wasn't going to let Chris be here when it happened. It was too dangerous.

"Mom, stop. Let me help you!" He knew his mom was planning something; he just didn't know what. Chris wanted Cori back too, but not at the expense of his mother.

Piper whirled around catching her son off guard. "Then leave. You will just be a distraction." She begged him to understand what she was saying; he did. Piper didn't want to worry about having to protect her son too. There was only so much loss a heart could take. Piper knew she wouldn't live if she lost any other family members.

Chris was torn. He wanted to be there for his mother. She wasn't recovered from the death of his aunts, but the memory of his mother dying in his arms trying to protect him kept popping into his head. He had changed the future in which Wyatt was evil into one where Prue was. He had never known his aunt except as the crazy dictator of the Underworld. He knew it was wrong to blame her for this war, but he did. "Call me if there's trouble." He knew there would be, and he also knew that he would be the last one his mother called. It was like he was picking one death for her over the other. He hugged her, ignoring how stiff her body was at the sign of affection. "I can't lose you, Mom."

Piper hardened her resolve. She couldn't show fear. Chris would only stay, and that would put him in more danger than she could handle. "I'm not going anywhere, Baby." She squeezed him back and pulled away, looking him in the eyes that matched his father's. She turned away without allowing herself to follow that train of thought. Leo was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.

Chris saw the recognition and pain in his mom's eyes. "Love you," he said as she walked away. Everything in him told him to follow her. This was his mom; he needed to protect her. He didn't move though. He wasn't going to be responsible for his mother's death again.

"I love you, too," she reached the end of the tunnel, hoping beyond hope that this plan would work. It had to.

* * *

><p>Prue sat down on a rock and laid her face in her hands. She had been searching for her daughter for hours with no sign of her. She tried to stop her body from shaking, but her nerves were getting the best of her. She knew something was wrong with Cori, and it wasn't paranoia. Mother's intuition. She didn't even notice when the four demons appeared in front of her. One cleared his throat causing Prue to jump. "What the <em>hell?"<em>

The four looked squeamish. They knew their leader's anger. They had all lost comrades because of it, and no one wanted to join them. Prue looked at them expectantly. She really didn't want to deal with demonic squabbles. "Someone tell me so I can decide if you're going to live or not."

One took a hesitant step forward and pushed a demon, who looked extremely shaken, towards Prue. She eyed the pathetic mongrel. "What?"

"I…we…a few…" he stuttered. Prue didn't have the patience for this. She flicked her hand, causing the demon to erupt in flames.

"Now, someone with some balls tell me what's going on."

The one who had stepped forward before cleared his throat, "He," the demon motioned towards the scorched dirt, "ran into Piper…in the Underworld. Her son, the brunette is with her, but I have reports that say they split up."

Prue jumped up at Piper's name. "She's here? In the Underworld?"

The demon nodded.

"Leave me," she waved. The three remaining flinched and disappeared in flames. Piper was _here_. Prue could find her sister. Maybe she was looking for her already. Maybe Piper had finally come to her senses and was going to join her. Her heart pounded in her chest with hope. Prue knew they were dangerous thoughts.

Hope for the worst and expect the best and you will never be disappointed.

But Piper was _here._ She paced back and forth in the cavern. What was she going to do? She needed to find Cori, but if she lost this opportunity to talk to her sister…

Once she found her sister, they could find Cori together. It would be like none of this had ever happened. _I just need to find her_.

_Piper…Piper, where are you?_ She heard nothing in return though. No hint in her heart as to which direction she should go. No instinctual pull to her sister. There had been a time when all she had to do was concentrate on her sisters and she could find them, but now it was like there was something blocking their connection. Maybe Piper didn't want her to find her. She was going to though. She would search under every rock in the Underworld if she had to; she was going to find her sister…her only sister.

* * *

><p>Piper turned around quickly, startled. Someone had called her name. <em>Prue <em>had called her name, but when she turned around, no one was there. She tried to concentrate on her sister. No, she tried to concentrate on Prue, the dictator of the Underworld. Her sister had died a long time ago only to be replaced by some monster that Piper couldn't recognize. Maybe her sister Prue was still alive in there somewhere, screaming for help. Piper doubted it. If her sister was still alive, she would be fighting. Prue was the strong one. If there was any hope, it died the day Prue stopped fighting. She kept searching for what, who, she was looking for though. Eventually she would find her: the leader of the Underworld couldn't be that hard to find.

Hours passed as she trudged through the Underworld. She hadn't run into any demons since the first three. Something she found odd; maybe they had finally gotten the picture. Mess with her, or any of her family, and you ended up dead. It would have been nice if they had picked up on that a little sooner though…

Someone stepped on a rock to her left. She froze, drawing the athame from her belt. "Come out and face me like a man," Piper spat.

"I'll do better than that," a voice said from the shadows, "I'll face you like a _woman_." It had been easier than Prue thought it would be to find her sister. Turns out a Charmed One in the Underworld leaves a bigger trail than she ever realized.

Piper shut her heart off. She wasn't going to let Prue get the best of her this time. This wasn't her sister. Her sister was dead. She waited for Prue to step out of the darkness.

Prue saw her sister's body tense, saw the hardness in her eyes. Her face was emotionless. She looked like a warrior, but this was her little, insecure Piper. She took a step to her, to let Piper know this was her. "Hey, Piper," she said smiling. It had been too long since she had seen her sister last and even longer since they had actually talked. She frowned when she saw more lines of stress, and darker bags under Piper's eyes. When Piper didn't respond, Prue sat down, sighing. "How are things?"

Piper knew what her sister was trying to do. She tried to keep her heart from beating out of her chest; she was surprised Prue couldn't hear its pounding. "It's not that kind of visit." It would never be again. Piper had lost all of her sisters. She was finally accepting it. Her sisters were gone, and it was her duty to make the world right again. Her children were depending on her now.

"Then what is it?" Prue knew from the second she saw her sister that Piper hadn't changed her mind. She had recovered from the blow quickly. Disappointment and betrayal was something she was used to by now. Though it still broke her heart that Piper thought she was her enemy. It didn't have to be like that. They could a family again. With her sister's help, they could bring Phoebe and Paige back. They could be a _family_.

Piper stared into the person's in front of her eyes trying desperately to find any trace of her sister. She found none. They were cold, dead, black holes. This wasn't her sister; it was just a shell of what she had been. "You know what it is."

Prue arched her eyebrow. "Do I now?" She stood up and started walking around the room. "Would it have anything to do with a certain relative of ours?" Prue tried to keep the cocky sarcasm in her voice and not let any of the worry in.

The younger Charmed One growled. "Yes. What did you do to her?"

Prue stopped and whirled around at her sister. "_What?_" she hissed acidly. She took a step towards Piper, but stopped when Piper retreated another step back. "You think I _did_ something to her? I love her too, Piper!"

Piper knew this Prue thought she had never done anything to Cori. Prue said she still loved her daughter, but Piper had no idea how any loving mother could do what Prue had done to Cori. "Yeah, and the evidence of that is all over her back!" Before Piper had time to react, Prue had her hand around Piper's throat and had pushed up against the wall. Prue's hand was cutting off Piper's air supply. She fumbled with the athame in her hand, trying to get it where she could at least hold Prue off. Even if this wasn't her sister, Piper could never do anything to harm her, but Prue grabbed Piper's wrist with her free hand.

Prue's nails dug into Piper's neck, but the younger witch showed no pain. She would be damned before she let Prue see her weak. She met Prue's angry glare with one of her own. "She _made _me do that. Do not for one second think I wanted to."

Piper's head was starting to spin from the lack of oxygen. She would have to do something or she was going to suffocate. She caught Prue's wrist with her free hand and threw it to the side. She used Prue's momentary lack of balance to slip out from under her grasp. She sucked in air, keeping her eyes on Prue who had her back to her leaning against the rock wall. Piper felt blood running down her neck. She touched the skin, and had to keep in the scream on her lips. _Shit._ That was going to leave a scar.

Prue pushed off the wall. Piper wasn't going to see her weak. She put all of her walls back up. If Piper wanted to be enemies, then they would be. She faced Piper. She had to know one thing before she condemned her sister. Prue, whether family or not, was not going to allow anyone to stand in her way. Piper had placed her bet, now she must live with the consequences. One question had to be asked first. "Why?"

Piper turned away at the question. She had almost allowed herself to believe that was her sister asking it. It was the question that had plagued her for the last eighteen years. Piper ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She had never found an answer. Why had her sister turned evil? Why hadn't been able to find a way to fix it? Why couldn't the future be changed? That wasn't what Prue was asking now.

_Why were they enemies?_

Family was supposed to conquer all. They were supposed to be together no matter what the world threw at them. And for a long time Piper had believed that. Family came first because nothing could separate the bonds that a family shared. Nothing was supposed to be able to separate her and her sisters. It was that motto that had destroyed their family though. Piper and been too blind to listen to Leo's warnings when Prue had first come back to them. Now, Phoebe and Paige were dead because of her mistake. Prue was gone. The world was in ruins. Thousands of innocent people were killed every day because of her mistake. She knew why.

"Because family can't come first," Piper whispered.

Prue sighed. "Then I guess it's settled." She wished it didn't have to be this way. "I still love you, Piper," she said conjuring a fireball in each of her hands. "I always will."


	5. Hope and Carrots

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would just like to say thank you for reading my story still I really liked writing this chapter. If you have any criticisms or praises PLEASE don't hole back. Oh, and I apologize for the last chapter being seemingly unimportant and pointless. Who knows, in the end it may be, but I just needed to know what was happening in the future between Prue and Piper! please, review. Thank you! Remember, JESUS SAVES!**

Leo saw Prue's arm move and tried to orb before the force of the power hit him. He hadn't been fast enough. It sent him flying over the bridge. To any mortal or witch, it would have meant their death, but Leo was an Elder. Most of the time he regretted his decision; this was not one of those times. He orbed to safety on the platform below the one Prue was one. He heard her say something, but he couldn't make it out. He waited a few minutes, trying to process what had just happened. Prue hadn't tried to kill him. She knew he was an Elder. She was just trying to make a point. More than that though, Prue was _back_. The human part of him was ecstatic. He had missed Prue, not as much as the sisters, but he had grieved for her. Having her back would be great, if he didn't know the future that she was going to face. Leo had to get to the sisters before she did. Maybe he could talk some sense into them. He doubted it. At the mention of Prue they would be too happy to listen to anything he had to say. He had to find a way to tell them that they would understand. "Please, God, don't let this happen."

* * *

><p>"I can't…I can't tell you."<p>

Cori pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, ignoring the spasm of pain shooting through her back. They were nothing compared to the pain in her heart. She would have preferred to let the fire completely consume her if she had known what she was going to wake up to. She would take _anything_ over this. She buried her face in the space between her knees and chest, rocking herself back and forth.

Her heart was pounding inside her, trying to get out of this body that only knew pain. She had built her heart back up enough times, and each time it felt like a little more of the whole was missing. The war should have hardened her; it should have made her strong. She should be able to deal with this, but everyone had a breaking point. Cori had just about reached hers. She hadn't separated the Piper here from her Piper in the future. She hadn't been prepared to see Phoebe and Paige alive again especially so close to Piper. Phoebe and Paige had been her loving, doting, overprotective aunts when she was growing up. The day she switched sides their relationship had done a complete 180. They still loved her, and she still loved them. But love doesn't always include trust or even protection. They had _let_ her mother go over the deep end. They had _let_ her mother torture her until she was almost dead. Then they had mended her wounds, apologizing over and over. She had tried to hate them and her mother. She tried with all her might, but for some reason she couldn't.

Now, here she was, being forced to relive the year that sent the world to hell, watching them be so close to Piper. She wished she could find a way to tell Piper what they were going to do to her. That they were going to betray her and everything they had ever fought for. She couldn't though. She had never known a Piper that still had sisters, a Piper that still believed in family. Her Piper was hard, strong, or at least she tried to be. This one was _happy_. Sure, right now she looked tired and worried, but Cori knew the pain that would one day be a permanent feature on her aunt's face. This Piper was what Cori had dreamed Piper looked like before the war. But this wasn't her aunt. The sooner she realized that, the sooner she could quit acting like a child and face the facts. She was in the past. She didn't know how, but she did know why. She was going to stop everything from happening even if it meant erasing herself from history. Her mother was going to be stopped.

_But,_ she thought, _whoever brought me back could have at least given me some more time._

She straightened up facing the Charmed Ones. Phoebe's eyes were still puffed up and red. Piper was holding onto Phoebe though who was getting more comfort from the gesture Cori couldn't tell. Paige was sitting a little further away from the other two, almost right in Cori's line of vision. It was like she was trying to be a wall between the two sets. All three had the same expression on their faces. Cori knew her answer wasn't going to fly. Her mini break down was over. It was time she realized that this was a war, and she was a warrior. She prayed to God for the strength her Aunt Piper always had.

Cori sighed. "I'm not worried about future consequences," at that Paige grunted, "I just don't think you could handle it."

"What do you mean 'handle it'?" Paige asked sourly. She had heard enough of future consequences for three lifetimes. She was relieved when the girl had said she wasn't worried about them. At least, this one might not be so hard to handle. Remembering Cori's first reaction to herself and Phoebe though, Paige doubted it. All Halliwells were hard to handle.

"I mean handle it." Cori didn't look at Paige, but rather the broken stairs directly behind her. "I don't want to…" how could she say this where they would understand. "There's something I have to tell you first."

"Oh?" Piper said. While the girl had seemingly lost control just a few minutes ago, Piper had been worried for her family. But she had never not trusted the girl. For some reason Piper couldn't understand, she could not bring herself to not trust Cori. There were questions that she needed answered and fast, but Piper believed the girl would tell them the truth. Trust was something that was hard to obtain from her and her sisters, for good reason. They had been burned on too many occasions for them to not shut off their hearts at least a little, but glancing at her sisters, she knew that the girl in front of them already had their trust.

How did Cori tell them this? How did she make them understand that this was a _bad_ thing? The moment she told them, they would be excited beyond anything else. If she tried to tell them that Prue would only end up tearing the world apart, she would lose all trust, and she would never be able to stop her mother. History would never change, and the world wouldn't be fixed.

Cori sighed again, something that Phoebe noticed she did a lot. She looked like she was a parent trying to tell them their favorite puppy had died. Phoebe was scared of the answer Cori was going to give them. What would the future be like this time? Phoebe shuttered causing Piper to instinctually squeeze her hand tighter. If she and Paige were dead, where did that leave Piper? She glanced at Piper then looked away. If Piper was _alone_…she would _never_ forgive herself.

Leo orbed into the kitchen. He heard voices in the living room and gathered up all this strength. He just had to tell them. That was the best, the only, way to handle the Halliwell sisters. No matter how he told them the reaction would still be the same. He needed as much time as possible to show them what was really happening. He breathed in one last time and stepped out into the dining room.

"Prue's back," both he and Cori said at the same time. The Elder and half-witch looked at each other. Leo glared at the evil sitting so close to his family. Cori turned away at the look. Leo had never trusted her. Why should this one be any different?

"What!" All three Charmed Ones screamed in unison. They jumped up, making both Leo and Cori flinch. This wasn't going to be easy.

"When…how?" Piper almost couldn't comprehend what they were saying. Prue was back? How is that possible? Did it matter? Her sister was back. Tears formed in her eyes. She wasn't afraid to let them fall; these were tears of joy. Her heart swelled with happiness. Her sister was back. Prue was back. She was going to see Prue. Prue was _alive_. The same thoughts kept running through her head. Her sister was back!

Phoebe almost couldn't stand. Her hands shook as she brought them over her mouth which was gaping wide open. _Prue was back_. Leo and Cori had said so. _Prue was back_. Everything on her body felt light. She caught herself turning around, trying to find her long lost sister. Not anymore. _Prue was back_. She was coming back to them. She was going to have her sister back! Phoebe squealed like a little girl not caring how foolish she looked. Nothing else mattered. _Prue was BACK!_ She was caught in a huge one of Piper's bear hugs. She reached for Paige and, finding her hand, pulled her younger sister into the embrace. _Prue was back_.

After she had jumped from the initial shock, Paige hadn't been able to move. Prue was back? Her sister, who she had never seen except for in pictures, she was back? She had stared at the only two sisters she had ever known and smiled. They were so happy. This meant so much more to them. Her heart kept skipping beats from happiness. It was like everything they had gone through was finally worth it. They were going to get their sister back and nothing was ever going to come between them again. _Prue was back_. Her sister was back. Paige was going to get to meet Prudence Halliwell. Her oldest sister. She was going to meet her. Paige instantly wondered what Prue would think of her. Would she live up to her expectations? Prue had been the super-witch, the alpha female, the one who had practically raised Piper and Phoebe. What would she think of Paige?

Cori chanced a quick glance at Leo, hoping to find some kind of reassurance. He was looking away from the sisters, a hard look on his face, one Cori read perfectly. He knew what was going to happen; she didn't know how he knew. But he did. And that's all that mattered. She just had to get him on her side which was a lot easier said than done.

"Where _is_ she?" Phoebe yelled, the smile fading from a face ever so much at the sight of Cori and Leo's faces. "What's wrong?" The sisters stopped jumping in circles, but remained in their embrace. "Leo, _what's wrong?_" she said more sternly. Phoebe was an empath. She could feel the hurt and remorse pouring off Leo. She wasn't able to get a read off Cori, something she had been thankful for a few minutes ago, but now she would kill to know what the girl was feeling.

Leo didn't move. How did he tell them this? How did he tell them that their sister was going to become evil if they didn't get her back into the afterlife _soon_? He had no idea how long Prue had already been down here. They needed to fix this and fast. "We need to talk," he said not meeting any of their eyes.

Piper couldn't believe her eyes. Leo had just told her that her sister, her Prue, was back from the dead, and he looked like he had just told her she died. "Leo, tell us now."

Paige wasn't looking at Leo; she was watching Cori. The girl was looking at Leo with an almost begging look on her face. What had they been talking about before? Paige racked her brain trying to focus enough to remember: her mother. They had asked who her mother was, and Cori said there was something they needed to know first. Then Leo had come out of nowhere and said Prue was back. Her heart leapt at the thought, but she pulled her mind back into focus. There was something there that she had missed. She knew it. Hadn't Cori told them Prue was back too? Paige's why widened in recognition. She studied the girl's face searching for any resemblance between her ex-deceased sister and the girl sitting there looking as if she was going to pass out. Paige only had pictures, but now that she was actually looking for it, she saw it. The girl's hair was exactly the same color, her face the perfect same shape. Her eyes shined the same, deep, cool black that Prue's had. "Prue is your mother. Isn't she?"

Cori felt everyone is the room heads snap in her directions. Now she knew how a lab rat felt. She nodded feebly. It was the only thing she had the energy for. The last twenty-four's exertion was finally beginning to take its toll on Cori. Her head rolled. She needed to stay awake though. She had to tell them what was going to happen. She had to let them know, so they wouldn't make the same mistakes again, but the blackness kept closing in. Her legs and arms wouldn't respond to her demands, but worse than that her eye lids wouldn't stop closing. Her ears rang. Someone was screaming or maybe it was just a memory, she flinched away from the noise. "I'm sorry," she whispered before giving in to herself.

The sisters and Leo watched the girl pass out. Her head slumped to the side, and her body finally relaxed. Leo squinted his eyes, "She's lying." She had to be lying. Leo already knew where the sister's minds were going. He had thought over it as well. The girl had known a spell from the Book which in the sister's eyes meant that she had to be a Halliwell. Leo was the only one who knew the truth. That girl couldn't be a Halliwell. No Halliwell was evil. They had changed the future for the better. The girl was the one who had brought Prue back. No evil that he knew of was powerful enough to raise a witch from the dead especially a Charmed One except the girl sitting right next to his family.

Why were they acting like this was the worst thing that could happen? Piper could barely contain herself from excitement. Prue was back. The awful experience from just minutes ago was at the back of Piper's mind. Her sister was back. She caught herself smiling despite the sour mood in the room. Phoebe was still shaking beside her, but this time Piper knew it was from pure joy. Their sister was coming back to them. Piper stared at Cori, the girl who claimed to be Prue's daughter. She tried to find evidence of her sister on the girl's sleeping face and almost cried. This girl's face was so much like her sister's she cursed herself for not seeing it earlier. "No, she's not." Piper breathed. "Look at her."

Leo wouldn't _look at her_. He had all the evidence against the girl he needed the moment the lightening struck his chest. He shook his head. There were too very bad situations that he needed to handle, but he had no idea how to approach them alone, much less together. He wouldn't trust the girl. For one, she was _evil_, and for another her timing was too perfect. It just so happened that she fell out of the future, barely alive, the day Prue decides to make it known to her family that she's back from the dead? No, something fishy was going on. She may have the sisters fooled, but he wasn't going to allow this girl to hurt his family. He groaned silently when he saw the look on all the sister's faces. They already believed the lies the girl had told them. He was going to be in this situation alone. He had to get help, so he went to the only people, in existence powerful enough to at least make the Charmed Ones stop and think: their mother and grandmother. He orbed out meeting Piper's betrayed look. His heart ached for her to understand, but he had been around Halliwells long enough to know that you had to match fire with fire. Or in this case Halliwell with Halliwell.

The sisters watched Leo leave then turned to each other, smiling. _Prue was back_. "We need to find her," Phoebe's heart was hammering inside her chest. She silently called out to Prue, maybe she could find her that way, but Phoebe didn't feel her lost sister anywhere.

Piper and Paige nodded. Paige grabbed both her sister's hands and started to orb them upstairs. "Wait!" Piper said freezing her sisters where they were. "We can't just leave her lying in the floor."

"Cori!" Paige called, holding out her hand to make the girl move upstairs to the bed. She had been practicing moving things from room to room, and she had gotten good enough at it to feel comfortable moving the girl. Orbs formed around Cori's body, but bounced around her, none of them able to touch her. After a few seconds, the orbs disappeared. The sisters looked at each other confused.

"What the hell was that?" Phoebe huffed.

Paige shook her head. "I have no idea." Good witches and Halliwells were immune to Piper's powers, but she had never met one immune to hers. She had never met _anything_ immune to her powers. "Piper wasn't able to freeze her; Phoebe can you get a read off her?"

Phoebe shook her head. "Not a thing which I am grateful for."

Piper wasn't in the mood to ponder why the girl was seemingly immune to their powers. Prue was out there and they needed to find her. "Paige, help me move her over to the loveseat."

The youngest Halliwell sister eyed the sixteen year old girl worriedly, "I don't think that'll work…" the girl wasn't fat, at all, but Paige could tell by looking at her muscled body that she wasn't light either. She imagined the girl was still very sore from her ordeal. "I might hurt her anyway."

Piper fought between her urge to get the girl on something soft and to not hurt her. She finally nodded, running over to the loveseat. She grabbed a pillow and blanket. Phoebe, seeing what her sister was doing, went over to the girl and gently turned her. Piper laid the pillow under Cori's head and draped the blanket over her body. "Okay," she smiled, "let's go find Prue!" Paige orbed them into the attic.

Phoebe's head was reeling from the waves of emotions floating off her sisters. It was impossible to distinguish between theirs and hers. One feeling stood out from the rest though; she was sure she knew which sister it was coming from. Paige was searching through the Book to find the blood to blood spell while Piper was scrying the entire state of California. Phoebe sat down rubbing her temples. There was only so much happiness a person could take. Her stomach turned over in her body, and her heart was beating a million miles an hour. The happiness wasn't even the worst part. She could feel the fear rolling of Paige. "Don't worry, Paige," she finally said, causing both her sister's heads to shoot up, "she's going to love you."

Paige blushed and Piper rolled her eyes. _I hope so_. Paige thought inwardly. She remembered how angry and hateful Piper had been to her when she first arrived. She understood it was because she was still dealing with the loss of Prue, but it had left a lasting impact on the young Halliwell. She kept turning through the pages trying to ease the queasy feeling in her stomach; if she didn't watch it butterflies were literally going to start flying out her ears. She finally landed on the blood to blood spell. Her heart sped up almost zooming out her chest.

"Blood to blood,

I summon thee.

Blood to blood,

Return to me."

The three sisters didn't move in anticipation. All three hearts were battering from excitement. _Their sister was _alive.

* * *

><p>Cori ran down the hallway, barely able to see where she was going. There was nothing to show her any progress; no little light at the end of the tunnel that showed her she was actually running towards a goal. Her mind and muscles yelled at her stop. She was running towards nothing, they screamed. There was no point. Her feet started to slow. The darkness closed in around her adding to her weight. Relief washed over her. Her fight was over. She could finally lie down. Vertigo took away her senses. Every step brought her closer to the floor. She was suddenly exhausted. Her legs wouldn't respond to her demands, and her lungs weren't pumping enough oxygen through her body. Cori didn't know if she was running with her eyes open or closed. Did it matter? She was running towards more darkness. Whether she kept going or stopped where she was, it made no difference. There was only one path she could take: darkness. Her heart thudded loud in her ears, the only sound in the world.<p>

_Boom. Boom. Boom._

She was alive. That had to mean something. Darkness couldn't last forever could it? If there was no difference between lying down and keeping running, then why stop? Something deep inside her whispered in her ear to keep going. _It will all be worth it_, it breathed. _Everything will be okay._ She drew encouragement from the little voice. Her pace quickened, faster than it had ever been before. Her legs and lungs still begged her to stop. Her entire body ached from exertion, but the voice wouldn't let her stop. She had to keep going. If she stopped, she wouldn't be able to get up again. The darkness would overtake her, and she would be nothing. Her fight would have to reward. She would lose everything. Fear kept her going.

Cori didn't know how long she ran. Maybe it was only a few minutes, maybe it was hours or days or years or lifetimes. She had no way to know. Maybe she had been born running. It was all she could think about. If she let her mind drift, she would stop, and everything would collapse. A small light appeared miles, worlds, away. It was so small Cori thought she was imagining it. The darkness had finally driven her mad, but the more she stared at it, she realized it was growing. It was a slow, antagonizing growth, but it was growth. She was going somewhere now. Her body reacted to the light with a burst of hope. Her legs propelled her forward. The light was still too far away to think about, but at least she had a goal. She had hope. However small, hope was hope, and that's all she needed. She smiled in the darkness. _Thank you, God._

If she could just reach the light, everything would be okay. The darkness couldn't hold her. She felt its wait increase on her shoulders. Everything around her was pushing her backwards, away from her goal, but she pushed on. Soon, the force was too much; she was crawling on her hands and knees, then her flat on her stomach. The light was still so far away, and she didn't have the energy to go any further. She had to keep her eye on the light. Robotically, she planted one hand, then foot, then hand, then foot. As long as she kept moving, the darkness wouldn't win. As long as she fought, everything would be worth it. The light, her hope, dangled beyond her reach like a carrot in front of the horse to make it plow the field. Cori realized she couldn't do this herself. She called out to someone for help; pleading for someone to be listening. The light glistened beautifully just beyond her reach. She stretched out her hand to touch it. The tips of her fingers were inches away from the light. So close…everything was going to be worth it. She could make things right. All she had to do was touch the light…

"Cori," her mother's voice called.

The girl's body reacted to the name. Her fingers drew away from the light, but she wouldn't let herself look back. If she did, she knew the light would disappear, and she would be left in darkness.

"Cori, come back. I love you, Cori. We can be a family again. Everything will be okay."

She listened to Prue's voice. Everything inside her wanted to believe her mother's words. She wanted nothing more than for every lie she had ever heard to be true, but they weren't. Lies were lies no matter who they came from. Cori started to reach for the light again, more desperate this time. Her fingers were so close to the light, she could feel its warmth begin to shine on her skin.

"No!" her mother screamed. Cori felt hands grab her ankles and begin to pull her away from the light. She dug her nails into the ground, not giving any ground. She reached out frantically for the light. She felt her body begin to give into all the forces around her. The light wasn't fighting for her so why should she fight for it?

_Keep going,_ the voice whispered. Cori groaned against the weight of the darkness and the strength of her mother's grasp. With her last bit of energy she extended her hand to the light.

_Please,_ she begged, _help me_.

* * *

><p>Prue hadn't gone to the Manor, though she had wanted nothing more in the world than to see her sisters. She knew Leo enough to know that he had orbed straight to her sisters. She appeared in a large cavern in the Underworld. The many demons in the room quieted at her entrance. "Hello, boys," she smiled walking right into the midst of them. Some of them muttered sarcastic comments. Prue ignored them. One day they would realize just how powerful she had become. She was focused mostly on the demon at the head of the cavern. She walked up the four stone stairs. He returned her smile.<p>

"Prue!" He laughed. "I didn't think I was going to get to see you today! I thought today was the day you were going to…uh…"

Prue shrugged. "I was heading that way, when I saw a familiar face." She kissed the demon lightly on the cheek and let him wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her in closer. His beard scraped her chin as he pushed his mouth against hers. He used his other hand to keep her face in place. She draped her leg behind his back and bit her lip when his teeth scraped playfully along her neck. Oh yeah, she was enjoying life. A few demons whistled. The whole enclave roared in laughter.

Prue pulled away from him, but let him keep his hand on her waist. "As I was saying," he bellowed over the crowd, "this is a new era for all of us! We will not be forced to skulk around away from the rest of the world. We will _own_ the world, with," he raised Prue's hand over their heads, "the Charmed One as our queen!"

The demons erupted in cheering. Prue looked out over the crowd. She frowned when she noticed a few demons grimace and shimmer out. She whispered something in the demon's ear. He nodded and gestured meaningfully towards the crowd. Three of the body guards behind him nodded and blazed out. "It's taken care of, love," he whispered in her ear, biting her earlobe gently.

"Good," she faced him surprised but pleased at how close his face was, "then let's leave." She walked two of her fingers playfully up his chest and smiled.

He grinned at her. "I know just the place." He was just about to shimmer them out when a hand fell on Prue's shoulder. She turned around ready to kill the demon who dared lay a hand on her. She quenched the fireball in her hand seeing who it was though.

"What do you want, Cole?" Prue said, agitated that she was having to stay in this place any longer. Demons weren't exactly the most hygienic species in the world.

"Where's Phoebe? You promised me that she'd come."

"Relax," she patted his chest, "I haven't even been home yet. Don't worry. I've got it under control."

Before Cole could say another word both Prue and the demon were gone.

The mob of demons exploded in applause at their departure.

"Zankou! Zankou! Zankou! Zankou!" they screamed.


	6. Destiny's Never Been Kind to a Halliwell

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry the update took so long. I had an...incident at bball practice and I still can't remember about five hours of my life! How cool is that? Then my Aunt, who is only 31, had 2 massive strokes. She came home two days ago though. God was really looking out for her. Her story is a legit miracle. If you think about it, could you pray for her. She still needs prayer. Thanks so much! Once again, sorry for the wait, but thanks for reading! JESUS SAVES.**

Cori gasped for breath. Sweat soaked her skin and the cover. She sat up, reassuring herself that she could move again. Her hands were shaking from the nightmare. She tried to shake away the awful dream, but it hadn't just been a dream. It was her worst fear. What if she wasn't able to change anything despite what her and her family had been through? What if no matter how hard they fought, none of it would ever matter? She shook her head. That answer didn't matter. She would always fight because giving in wasn't an option, and she knew her family, or what was left of them, felt the same way. She looked around for the sisters, instantly worried when she couldn't find them. How long had she been out? The sun was still bright outside. Her heart sped up. If they had found her mother before she was able to talk to them, to tell them what was going to happen…she wouldn't be able to change a damned thing.

"Shoot," she threw the cover off her and jumped up, "Piper!" she yelled running into the kitchen. However little sleep she had gotten it had reenergized her. Her back still felt like it was going to rip off her body, but she could move. Always a good thing.

No one was in the kitchen. She caught herself about to call Phoebe and Paige's names. She bit her lip though. She didn't know if she would be able to take it if they responded. "Piper!" she cried again. She shimmered upstairs into the only other room her aunt spent much time in besides the kitchen: the attic. She nearly collapsed from relief when she saw all three of the Charmed Ones. "I thought…" she stammered, but she didn't finish, the look on Piper's face beating on her fading strength. "What happened?"

Piper knew her powers wouldn't work against the witch but she tried anyway. What was this girl's game plan? Come back from the future and lie to them their _sister_ was back from the dead. What was she trying to accomplish? "Why didn't it work?" She screeched.

Cori didn't know what to say, but her Halliwell genes kicked in. She took a defiant stance against her aunt, "Why didn't what work?" Her eyes rested on Paige who was standing behind the Book of Shadows. Cori's eyes widened. "You didn't try to summon her did you?" She searched the room for any sign of her mother. What would she do if she did see Prue? How was she supposed to act? Should she just kill her and stop everything from happening? Cori knew before she completed the thought that that wasn't going to work. Even in this time her mother was powerful. Maybe not as powerful as Cori, but the girl wasn't exactly at the top of her game at the moment. She would be no match for her mother, and she knew the sisters wouldn't back her up.

"We did, and it didn't work. Why?" Paige spat walking away from the Book. Why hadn't her and her sisters learned by now that if something was too good to be true that it was _always_ a lie? Oh yeah, because they were stupid.

Cori's head snapped at Paige's tone, "How am I supposed to know? It's not like a made the rules."

All three sisters scoffed. "No," Paige said, "you barged in here, nearly dead, almost send the Manor into space, then tell us that our sister is alive and we can't find her!" The youngest Charmed One knew she was being unfair to the girl, but her heart was breaking. So she was doing the only thing she knew to do: lash out.

Cori couldn't believe what she was hearing. They thought all of this was _her_ fault? She had given up _everything_ to try and make things right. She had given up her own happiness just so maybe the world could be right again. _Of course, they blame you for this_, her mind told her, _they always did. _Cori closed her fists to stop herself from sending Paige into the wall. This wasn't her. This wasn't the aunt who had betrayed her. They didn't know. Well, she could fix that. "You can't blame me for any of that. If you want to blame someone, blame _your sister_," she used her fingers to quote the words. "She's the one that sent the world to hell." Cori stopped. She shouldn't have said that. The anger that had been threatening to boil over inside her a second ago disipated. She met each of her aunt's eyes begging for forgiveness. She shouldn't have told them that. Not that way. They didn't deserve to find out like this. Not even Phoebe and Paige. "I'm…so…sorry," she stammered. She turned away ashamed.

Piper stood up trying to find a hint of a lie on the girl's face, anything to let her know that Cori had been lying, but she couldn't because it wasn't there.

"That can't be true," Phoebe whispered unable to make her voice any louder. Her sisters' emotions were beginning to take a toll on her. She rubbed her temples trying to concentrate enough to make a coherent thought. Her own heart felt like it was going to implode from the roller coaster of emotions it was going through, but she pushed it down. Now wasn't the time. She had had her break down for the day. Now it was time to be a big girl and hit this nail on the head. "Prue isn't evil. She died _fighting_ for good."

Paige wouldn't believe it. Her sister wasn't evil. There was just no way. She wouldn't _let_ her sister be evil. She would fight until her death to make sure of it. Halliwells weren't evil. They had fixed their mistake. "How?" Paige asked, trying to meet Cori's eyes. The girl was avoiding her eyes though. She just kept looking at Piper with a horrified look on her face. "How?" she said louder.

Cori's eyes didn't move from Piper. She swallowed hard. Her mind was reeling attempting to find a way to explain this to them, but it just wasn't there. She cursed herself for losing control like that. Piper was the only one who hadn't said anything. Cori needed to know that she believed her though. Piper would always be her rock no matter what happened. If she had Piper, everything would work out. "Do you believe me?"

Piper met Cori's eyes, letting the tiniest of smiles appear on her face. Those eyes were exact copies of Prue's. Piper was bombarded with a memory of her sister.

_Something was shaking her. Piper tried to scream, but a hand was covering her mouth. She panicked flailing her arms and legs trying to break free of her captor. "Grams!" she screamed in her head, "Help!"_

"_Piper, stop moving!" Prue hissed, looking over at Phoebe to make sure she hadn't waked her up. Piper breathed out a sigh of relief at Prue's voice. The eldest sister let go of her and rolled over, lying down at her side. _

"_You scared the crap out of me!" Piper groaned quietly. "What're doing? It's three o'clock in the morning." Examining her sister's garb though, Piper knew exactly what her sister had been doing. She still smelled like alcohol. She sighed rubbing her face in her hands. "Oh."_

_Prue didn't say anything. At first, Piper thought her sister had drifted into sleep. She snuggled up closer to her older sister. No matter how old they got, Prue would always be someone she could snuggle with and not feel awkward. Prue draped her arm over her shoulder. Piper was almost asleep when she felt Prue sniffle and catch her breath. She looked up at her, "Prue, are you okay?" It had been years since she'd seen her sister even have a tear in her eye. Prue was strong like that something Piper admired about her sister. _

"_Yeah, Piper, just go to sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning." Prue gripped her tighter. Piper could feel her sister's body start to shake. Piper sat up to look her sister in the face. Something wasn't right. She reached over to turn her lamp on. Prue tensed, but didn't stop her. The middle Halliwell gasped when the light hit Prue's face. _

"_What happened?" _

_A tear fell from one of Prue's eyes. Piper guessed her sister would be crying from both eyes if her left eye wasn't swollen shut. A dark purple and blue bruise covered the entire left side of her face. Her lip and eyebrow was bleeding enough that Piper knew her sister was going to need stitches. "Nothing. Just please go to sleep." Prue knew it was stupid to come into her sisters' room, but she needed Piper. She needed to know there was something in this world she could count on. _

"_I'm getting Grams," Piper started to get up from the bed, but Prue pulled her back down. She forced Piper to look her in the eyes with her hand, something that made Piper cringe. She looked into Prue's one good eye noticing how even in the dim light they shined a warming a glow. _

"_Do you trust me?" She asked._

"_Of course, Prue, with everything." How could she not trust her sister? Prue had always been there for her. No matter what her sister had been going through, Prue had _always _been there for her and Phoebe. _

"_Then believe me. Grams can't know until morning."_

_Piper nodded feebly looking away from her sister's face. Prue lay back down and pulled Piper close to her. She rested her head and sighed. "Thank you," Prue whispered almost too quiet for Piper to hear._

"_For what?" Piper giggled despite the grim mood. _

"_For being there."_

"_Anytime."_

Piper looked into the Cori's eyes seeing a glint there that made her heart leap. Cori was hiding her emotions; Piper could see that. It hurt her to realize how much like Prue's those eyes were. It was like her sister was back, only standing right in front of her. Cori's eyes were desperate, but that was the only thing Piper could read. She could see her stone walls hiding what the girl was really feeling. She tried to find a way past the girl's defenses, but she knew it was useless. Prue had never let anyone in, and she could tell her daughter would be the same, stubborn way. "I have to don't I?" She tried to comprehend what the information Cori had given them meant, but it hurt too damn much. She would deal with the emotional pain later when she was alone and her family wasn't counting on her.

Cori almost couldn't believe her ears, and she wasn't alone. Phoebe and Paige both widened their eyes at their older sister's response. "Piper, you can't be serious. We don't even know-,"

Piper cut Paige off with her hand. She still couldn't bring herself to look away from Cori's eyes. "You were the one to told me she was family. We can't just ignore what knowledge she has because we don't like what she's telling us."

Phoebe broke Piper's line of vision; her face replaced Cori's eyes. Piper tried to look around her sister, but Phoebe wouldn't let her. "Piper, look at me." Sighing, she complied and met her sister's doubtful, scared face. She was suddenly reminded of what she was supposed to be doing. She had to be the strong one. She had to figure this all out, for them. They depended on her leadership and strength.

"Phoebe…" Piper breathed. She grabbed both her hands.

"You realize what you're saying right? She just told us Prue is _evil_." Phoebe's mind was buzzing from information overload. She just learned her sister was back from the dead, God knows how, now she was expected to be able to deal with the fact that she might be evil? "How can you believe that?"

How could she believe that? Her heart was screaming at her, telling her it was impossible. The girl had to be lying. There was no way Prue was evil. Prue, the one who had been her protector, her guardian, her shield from the world. She was the one who had gotten her through her mother's death, even though it had been her mom dying too. She was the one who consoled them when Grams died, even though Piper could see her falling apart on the inside. She had been the strong witch, the one person in this whole messed up and crazy world who could shove whatever pain she was feeling away and comfort those around her. She had died saving a stranger. This was _her_ Prue they were talking about. She _couldn't _be evil. Prue was just too damned strong and stubborn for that. But Piper had seen the look in Cori's eyes, the same look Prue got whenever she was trying to be strong, but on the inside falling apart. Maybe that's why Piper had instantly trusted the girl. She had already seen the Prue reflecting out of Cori without even realizing it. "Because she has the same look Prue got whenever she was trying to save the world."

Paige didn't know what to think. On the inside, she really did believe what Cori was telling them, but she couldn't admit that, even to herself. Ever since she had found out she had sisters, and about her wiccan heritage, she had wanted nothing more than to fill the big shoes Prue had left behind. She knew she could never replace Prue. She didn't want to, but she wanted to be like her. She wanted to be someone her sisters could depend on. She tried so hard every day to protect her sisters because that's what Prue would do. Paige had long ago promised herself that she would die before she allowed _anything_ to happen to her sisters. She stared at Cori, trying to find this look that Piper was talking about, but she hadn't known Prue. She didn't know what her mannerisms were or how she had smiled or what her favorite movie was or anything. She looked away, fearing the tears in her eyes would give her away. She had no right to cry at a time like this, so she bottled up all the tears for later.

Phoebe sighed. She knew her sister was right. She had seen it too but pretended she hadn't. It scared her more than she wanted to admit that this was Prue's daughter. She didn't know why, but it made her stomach turn over inside her. Cori had been through hell that much was obvious. How could Prue let her daughter suffer like that? There was only one answer, and Phoebe wouldn't even let herself think it. Prue had often said she never wanted to be a mom. Phoebe had thought it was just because of what happened to their mother that it had scared her to think she would leave her children the same way. But she had always thought Prue would make a wonderful, overprotective, nosy, and loving mother. She remembered the numerous times she had come home, hours after curfew, expecting no one to still be up, only to sneak in to see Prue waiting patiently with a worried, raging expression on her face. If there was one thing in the world she had been able to count on, it was Prue's protection. "She would never give up like that," Phoebe stated clinging to Piper's hand with all her strength. It was the only thing keeping her from breaking down again.

Piper and Phoebe shared a smile. "I know she wouldn't," Piper stated, "that's why we have to figure out what happened."

Phoebe nodded turning around to face Cori, still clutching Piper's hand.

Cori watched the exchange between her aunts and let relief slip through her. Piper was on her side. They could fix this still. She didn't know how, but she knew they could. Piper would figure this out. It took her a second to realize that they were all staring expectantly at her. "Oh," she stammered, trying to figure out what they wanted from her. What had Paige asked? _Why_? She rubbed the back of head nervously. She breathed out trying to focus her mind's words enough to make sense. She couldn't, but it didn't matter. As soon as she opened her mouth to attempt an explanation, the jiggling sound of someone orbing in filled the room. All four Halliwell witch's jaws dropped when they saw who it was.

"Hello, girls," Grams said letting go of Leo's hand. She hugged Paige, who was the closest, and then went to Phoebe and Piper. She purposefully ignored the shocked look on all their faces. Greetings first. Explanations later.

Patty waited for her mother to make her rounds before she moved. She didn't want to do or say anything that would only make the situation worse. She wasn't really back from the dead, but being back here had her nerves on end especially with the situation they were all in. She let out a silent sigh of relief when she didn't see Prue. She had to make her other daughters see that this was a horrible thing. Immortality was not meant for any of them. This life wasn't what they were made for. She had to get Prue back before it was too late to save her soul. Her eyes rested on the girl who was standing alone facing away from all of them. The girl's hands were clenching and unclenching. She could see the tension in her stance. This must be the _ultimate_ evil Leo had told them about. Patty knew evil came in all shapes and sizes, but she couldn't see or feel any evil emitting off her. Anyways, her daughters could take care of themselves. Obviously they didn't think she was too big a threat or she would be dead already.

"What's your name?" she asked the girl. She saw Leo tense at her side. She patted his elbow letting him know she had this under control. The girl cringed at being addressed.

Seeing that Cori wasn't going to answer her mother, Piper let go of Grams to go stand by her. She grabbed her hand comfortingly. "Mom, this is Cori." She paused. Should she tell her who this girl really was? That this was her granddaughter? She glanced at Cori out of the corner of her eye. No, she would let Cori tell her or not tell her though she was sure the cat would be let out of the bag soon.

"She's from the future," Paige half- growled half-sighed.

"So she says," Leo grumbled. His head pounded from frustration, but he could only handle one problem at a time. Right now he had to focus on Prue. "Look can we just focus on why we're all here? We need to find Prue…and get her back to the afterlife."

"Before she turns evil?" Phoebe asked already knowing the answer. Leo's eyes widened.

"How do you know about…" he glared at Cori. "What did you tell them?"

Cori wouldn't look at him. The only thing keeping her from killing him was the fact that it would hurt Piper. Her future Leo had died years back, but, even from the other side of the war, she knew it had destroyed Piper.

"She told us that Prue was her mother and she sent the world to hell," Paige blurted. There was no reason to hide anything right now. If all they were being told was true, they needed to act swiftly. Piper glowered at her youngest sister.

"Paige…"

Penny and Patty's heads snapped towards Cori. She felt their studying her the same way the sisters and Leo had before. She sighed. The only way they would believe her is if they saw her face. She knew she looked almost exactly like her mom and had been told on more than one occasion how you could see Prue through her eyes. She gathered her strength and faced her ancestors. Penny gasped, but all Patty could do was smile. A mother knows her child's eyes. She had studied all her daughters' when they were babies and they would have unofficial staring contests. A tear trickled down her cheek. There was no doubt in the world whose daughter this was. "Wow," Penny whistled. "Okay, so things just got a lot more complicated."

All the Halliwells laughed nervously, except Cori who just half-smiled. Leo grimaced. "Are you serious?" He yelled. He had placed all his chips on Penny and Patty talking some sense into their descendents. He knew he could count on them with Prue, but he was hoping to finally bring to light what this girl was. "She's evil."

Cori finally allowed herself to look at Leo. She hadn't known Leo much in her time, but even under all the stress and anger, she could see hope in his eyes, something that no one in future seemed to have. The glimpse of Leo she was getting wasn't good. His words were like daggers in her heart. She knew every word he was true and that broke her even more. She was evil, but she was fighting. That had to count for something didn't it? It was one of the questions that haunted her most. She used the mantra that Piper had fused into her brain since she had switches sides. "Evil is as evil does."

Leo didn't say anything. Penny covered her mouth to hide her smile. She already liked this girl. She closed the gap between them and wrapped her in a huge hug.

Cori screamed. White hot irons melted the skin on her back. She felt the whip hitting her back again and again. Electricity shot through her playing with her will to live. Red rims formed around her vision. She tried to escape the bonds holding her to the pain, but she didn't have the strength. Her legs gave out from under her, and she couldn't move. She panicked. She couldn't breathe in a breath big enough to satisfy her lungs. Her mouth filled with a metallic tasting liquid.

"Grams!" The three Halliwell sisters yelled. Penny didn't know what to do. She felt the girl go limp under her.

"What do I do?" She asked horrified. What was she doing to this girl, her great-granddaughter, to put her in so much pain?

"Put her on the couch!" Piper ordered. Penny nodded and coaxed the girl's limp body over to her great (no one really knew how many greats) Aunt Pearl's couch. She was about to lay her down when the sisters yelled at her again.

"Not on her back!"

Penny twisted the girl to the side and almost fell down when she realized why her great-granddaughter was in so much pain. Thick, raised marks crisscrossed her back. Some of them were still red. The tank top she had been wearing was ripped to shreds in the back. She fell to her knees. "What happened?"

"We don't know," Piper gritted.

Cori sobbed causing her body to heave up and down. Blood trickled out of her mouth. She coughed to try and get it all out, but the metallic taste lingered. She wouldn't close her eyes. She knew if she did she was feint and she had had enough of unconsciousness for one day. She tried to raise her arm to touch her great-grandmother, but only her fingers moved, so she attempted a smile. "It's okay. I'll be," she gasped from another wave of electricity, "alright."

Penny grabbed her hand. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

Cori shook her head. "It's fine. It doesn't matter." Her vision was clearing up, and her back spasms were starting to fade into dull throbs. "We have to get her back though. That will fix everything."

Phoebe, Piper, and Grams smiled at Cori changing the subject so quickly. When Prue was in pain and didn't want to talk about it, she always found a reason to. Patty frowned at the girl, Cori, her granddaughter. She studied the rest of her body seeing the full extent of Cori's injuries. Her whole body felt weak just looking at her granddaughter. She held back the tears. It wasn't her place to cry. She wasn't the one who looked like they had been thrown into a wood chopper.

"How do we do that?" Paige complied with the girl's need for a change in subject. She knew what it was like to have everyone picking at you. It wasn't fun.

Leo's interest sparked at the question. "She won't tell you," he muttered but no one heard him. That girl was the one who had brought Prue back. He was convinced of it.

"I don't…I don't know," she said trying to sit up. Instantly three sets of hands were guiding her into a sitting position. She waved them off. If she couldn't even sit up by herself she was doomed. "We were never able to figure out what had brought her back, and we would never-," she stopped. Should she say it?

"Kill her?" Piper breathed. Her heart pounded in her at the thought. At least some things were still right in the future. She would never _touch_ one of her family members. She nodded. "So we need to find the person that brought her back then what?"

"Kill _them_." Everyone in the room froze. Their mission was clear now. They had to save their own family member before it was too late. They needed to find the magic that had brought Prue back to life and end it.

"No evil I know of has the power to bring a witch back from the dead," Leo said. Well, there was one, but it was sitting next to his family. Piper subconsciously sat down next to Cori and held her hand. Phoebe sat on the arm, as close to Cori as possible without touching her. Cori was uncomfortable with Phoebe sitting so close but she tried not to show it. That was one secret she _wasn't_ going to tell. Paige grabbed the Book and sat down in the floor in front of Phoebe.

She opened it up. "Well, let's get crackin'."

Patty hadn't moved from her spot. She hadn't even hugged her daughters. Her feet felt like lead weights. If she tried to move she would just topple over. "Mom, you okay over there?" Piper saw the whiteness of her mother's face and knew she wasn't taking all this very well. "Mom…"

"Patty, we're going to fix this," Penny said, knowing where her daughter's thoughts were heading. They had to fix this. If they didn't, she didn't want to think about what the future was like. If Cori's body was any proof of the future this world was spiraling towards…she caught her train of thought. None of that mattered because they were going to make it all right.

"I know what," she whispered. Everyone stopped. Cori didn't move. She wouldn't let herself believe her grandmother's words for a second. They had thought they knew what evil had brought back her mother countless times and every time they were wrong. Hope was something that didn't exist in her time so why should it exist now? How had her mother put it? Hope was the carrot dangled in front of the horse to keep it plowing the field.

Patty was sure she knew what evil had brought her daughter back to life. There was only one magic in existence that could bring a witch back from the dead. The only problem was it wasn't good or evil. Whatever their reason for bringing Prue back to life, it would be hard, if not impossible, to get them to change their mind. "Destiny was never kind to a Halliwell."

* * *

><p>Prue felt her sisters calling her, and it took all her willpower to resist the magic. Now wasn't the right time though. She had to have everything ready. If she went to them too soon, they wouldn't understand, or be safe. Everything would be a loss. She looked over the map of the Underworld, the only one in existence and smiled. There were only a few pockets of resistance left. They could all be <em>handled<em> today. Tomorrow she could see her sisters. Tomorrow everything would be like it should have been from the beginning. No one would be able to touch them. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. Her heart pounded in her ears. It felt like everything was finally falling into place. Within in the next forty-eight hours, she would have her family back. The map's images shifted on the page.

She had never known this before, but, according to this map, the Underworld was a constantly changing labyrinth of caverns and tunnels all leading up to one spot. She eyed the location proudly. That would be her castle. She flamed out of the secret cave into another that reeked of decay. "Come out, come out wherever you are," she chimed mischievously.

"We were wondering when you would show up."

Prue couldn't find the source of the voice, but she wasn't worried. She could take out this clan in her sleep. "Well, the wait is over," she said cockily. "Now, come out let's finish this." She turned around looking for her enemies, but she didn't see anything. "Okay," she smiled, "one more chance to surrender." Prue counted to ten in her head, "No? Then let's play. It's been at least eight hours since I vanquished a demon. I was starting to do into withdrawal."

She waved her hand in a circle around the room. Instantly, eight demons appeared in a circle around her. They froze realizing their cover was blown. Prue heard one of them behind her conjure a fireball. She sighed. "And I thought this was going to be at least a little fun." She flicked her wrist backwards. She smiled at the demons dying scream. "Music to my ears."

The remaining seven conjured fireballs in each of their hands. Prue rolled her eyes, setting up her invisible shield. She made it conform to fit around every part of her body except her hands. She stuck her crossed her arms. "Do it."

All fourteen fireballs sizzled uselessly against her shield. One or two of them tried again but with no change. They looked at each other worriedly. One started to shimmer out, but Prue shot a lightening bolt that hit him square in the chest. She eyed the rest of them. "I can't let you live. You see, I need completely loyal subjects, not ones that I obtained by fear."

"We would never stoop so low as to serve a witch," one spat.

She grinned at him. "I'm glad to see at least some demons still have some backbone." She sighed. "I wish we could be on the same side, but sadly, this is a war, and I'm on the winning side."

"We'll see who wins in the end," the same demon hissed. He conjured a fireball as did the other five. She rolled her eyes and waited for the attack. But it didn't come. Instead, the six nodded at each other throwing the fireballs at _themselves_. She chuckled and shook her head.

"They've got guts. I'll give them that." She saluted the piles of ashes. "Good luck in purgatory."


	7. Hesitation Will Get You Killed

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Nothing really to write about this chapter except enjoy and review please! JESUS SAVES!**

**YEAR 2023**

"How could you let her just go off in the Underworld alone?" Wyatt was furious. They had already lost so much. He wouldn't be able to deal with it if he lost his mom too. Didn't Chris know how much danger she would be down there? Of course he did. Then why the _hell_ had he let her go _alone_? He paced in front of the couch where his brother was sitting with his head in his hands. "What if she gets hurt? Did you think about that?"

"Of course I thought about that!" Chris yelled. "She's my mom too, Wy."

"Then why? Tell me, Chris. What the _hell_ were you thinking?" He stopped in front his brother waiting for his reply.

"I wasn't going to be responsible for her death _again._" He hated exposing how he was feeling, but he couldn't handle Wyatt's anger. He needed his brother to understand why he had done it. It was tearing him apart on the inside to know that he had let his mom go into enemy territory alone. The memory of his mother dying in his arms kept floating around in the back of his consciousness.

Wyatt plopped down next to his brother. He knew the story. It was one of the few memories of the other future where _he_ was evil that he had been able to force out of Chris. His family hadn't held a grudge against him because of what he had almost become, but he did. It was his greatest fear that he was going to become evil again somehow. He devoted himself to fighting evil. It was the only thing that kept the guilt from consuming him. His brother was in pain, he could see that. No one in his family had ever known a world without a war that tested every bond and threatened to take away loved ones, but Chris had two war's memories to deal with. And one of them was _his_ fault. Wyatt would never forgive himself. "Chris, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" he didn't know what to say. He had never been good with words.

"If anything happens to her…" Chris would never forgive himself. He was starting to doubt his decision. He shouldn't have let his own fear get in the way of protecting his mother.

Wyatt was at another loss of words. He couldn't tell his little brother that nothing would happen to her because he knew that it was completely possible that his mom would get hurt. "We know what she was doing."

"That's not making feel any better, Wy," but he couldn't stop the smiling from appearing on his face.

Wyatt leaned against the back of couch. He knew where this conversation was going and he loved it. Any excuse he had to go kick some demon ass and he was there. "Search and rescue?" he asked hopefully.

Chris met his brother's excited eyes the two parts of him warring. Finally, the protective side of him won out. He wasn't going to last much longer cooped up in the Manor before going crazy. Besides, a little demon killing never hurt anyone. Wyatt read his brother's look perfectly. "Let's do it." They both orbed off the couch landing in a dark cave. Each tried to sense for their mother, but they couldn't find her. They weren't too worried. The Underworld threw their abilities to track each other off. Wyatt smiled. "Looks like we're going to have to interrogate."

Chris shook his head at his brother's happy grin, but couldn't deny he was a little pleased. Killing demons was the only past time the two brothers had ever had. It was their Superbowl and college playoffs all rolled into one. "Where to start? Oh, where to start?"

Wyatt chuckled. "How about down that hallway?" The Halliwell brothers traveled in silence. They shared more than anyone else realized and both knew that neither one wanted small talk. They were on a mission. Chris wondered what would happen if they ran into any of their _family_, the word crawled across his brain. He couldn't bring himself to hate the others. He still remembered Phoebe and Paige from a different time when for at least some of his life, they had been his real family, happy and _good_. He remembered their young children from the time he only knew. How he and Wyatt had been their guardians, and most of the time, their tormentors.

He remembered what his family _could_ be, so he couldn't bring himself to hate any of them. But he sure didn't like them. What if they did see any of their family? Would they fight? Until now, no Halliwell had attacked any other but family could only go so far. The "family comes first" mantra had long ago been abandoned. Sooner or later one side was going to prevail. Chris didn't know if he could bring himself to actually _attack_ any of them. He knew it was only because he remembered that Wyatt's war had brought him so much closer to his cousins. Now, it was like the exact opposite.

"Are you thinking about them?" Wyatt was rubbing his hands together, a sign that he was nervous.

"Yeah," Chris sighed. They hadn't seen Phoebe and Paige's children since the two Charmed Ones' deaths. Chris wished he could have been there for his family, but the comfort wouldn't have been accepted. "I wonder how they're doing."

Wyatt scoffed.

"What?" Chris defended.

Wyatt stopped his expression suddenly very grim. He had to make Chris understand this. If it came down to fighting, his brother had to be ready. He realized that his brother stilled remembered when their cousins had been fighting by his side, but this was now. This was what mattered. Wyatt wouldn't be able to protect himself and Chris against a fight with their cousins. They were powerful, and it scared him. Chris won't have time to hesitate. "If we run into anyone, you have to be ready to do what has to be done. Are you ready for that? Because if not-,"

"It won't come down to that," but even he heard the crack in his voice. They didn't know what would happen. Chris sighed. "But yes. I understand." He shivered from the thought of having to kill any of them. Wyatt laid a hand on his shoulder. He looked into his older brother's eyes. Wyatt was his strength. The one thing that kept him going. His brother was proof that things could be changed for the better. Wyatt gave him hope. As corny as that sounded, it was true. He wouldn't have been able to make it through this war if it wasn't for Wyatt. "C'mon," Chris smiled, "you can talk yourself out of anything remember?"

Wyatt grinned at his brother, grateful for the change of subject. "Oh yeah," he hit his head with his palm and rolled his eyes, "I forgot about _that_."

Piper dodged the fireballs easily, but it felt like a thousand had hit her square in the chest. She had tried preparing herself for this moment by telling herself Prue was dead, that this wasn't her sister. She thought she was ready to face the facts, but the tearing in her heart told her she wasn't. A bolt of lightening shot out of Prue's hand heading straight for her. She reacted without thinking or feeling. She had to let the warrior take control. The human part of her resisted, but was too shattered to put up much of a fight. She froze the electricity, only inches from her stomach. Piper flexed her fingers sending Prue flying back against the cavern wall again. She held her sister there by repeatedly using her combustion power. Prue was too powerful for it to do any damage; it only kept her in place. "It doesn't have to be this way." She hadn't been able to stop herself before the words came out. She had to try.

Prue screamed against the hold. Her hands started to glow red. The glow moved up her arms and down her body. "What the hell?" Piper lost her concentration and Prue fell to the floor. Before Piper could react she was charging. Prue's fist hit her just where her heart was. Piper yelped but held her ground. She fought against the force, feeling Prue's first digging deeper into her body. She felt her enemy's finger flexing inside her: she was going for her heart. Piper grabbed Prue's wrist attempted to pull her hand out, but nothing changed. Her body reacted instinctually to the invading force. Blood rushed to the spot trying to force Prue's hand out of her.

Her chest felt like it was going to explode. A deep fire burned from Prue's fingertips stretching to try and reach her heart. She could feel the fire burning through her chest, closing in on her heart from every side. "I'm sorry, Piper."

She heard the words, but what drew her from her battle for survival was the voice. It was her sister's voice. She looked at Prue's eyes: _her_ Prue's eyes. For the first time in years, Piper saw her sister in them. "Prue," she whimpered. The fire was scorching her chest. It was so close to her heart. She was going to lose. A thousand pound weight lifted off her shoulders. She felt a million pounds lighter. She was going to lose. Her battle was finally over. She could _rest_.

"Mom!" Chris yelled. He pushed back the flashbacks. He had to save his mother. A white streak of energy shot past his head. Wyatt's bolt barely missed their mother, hitting Prue in the shoulder. It knocked their aunt off balance, but her hold on Piper didn't budge.

_Mom_. That was her son. Her family still depended on her. She couldn't give up. There were things worth fighting for. There would _always_ be things worth fighting for. Her sons depended on her. Cori was depending on her. The world was depending on her. The weights returned, but she accepted them. If this was the way it had to be to keep her loved ones safe, then to heck with it. She saw the white light hit Prue in the shoulder. She tightened her grip on Prue's wrist and with her last bit of will, pulled her hand completely out. The fire screeched at her effort. She could feel it burning hotter and brighter inside her. She remembered Cori's story of her mother doing the same to her only it had reached Cori's heart. The only reason she was still alive was because Phoebe and Paige had found a way to heal the girl's wounds.

She fought against the fire, pushing it back with every last ounce of the strength. Another bolt hit Prue's shoulder.

Prue screamed at losing ground. She tried to push back into Piper's chest, but it felt like there was a wall moving against her. She couldn't find a way around it. Prue knew when she was losing a fight, and she wasn't going to waste energy on a pointless battle. She completely withdrew her hand. Piper didn't move. Her eyes were barely open. The only thing keeping her on her feet was pride. She wouldn't let Prue see her fall. A force hit her right where Prue's hand had been just a few moments before. She flew back, unable to fight anything. She landed against the rock wall. Something sharp hit her back. She felt warm liquid start to trickle down from the wound. Her head pounded from the effort of staying conscious. Warm hands lifted her up. "Wyatt, she needs healing!" Chris shouted.

"Then you take over here!" the elder brother yelled. He orbed just in time to avoid his aunt's electric current. He landed beside his mom, laying his glowing hands over her. Chris stood up, holding both hands out. He felt his arms and hands start to spark from the energy flowing into his finger tips. They blazed blue. Flashes of lightening shot from each of his finger tips. The ten bolts hit Prue in the chest. She screamed, hitting the back wall and slumping to the ground. Chris eyed his aunt for another second then turned to his mom and brother.

It took all Chris had to keep looking at his mother. Her lifeblood was spilling from the hole in her chest. More blood was pooling beneath her from her back injury. Her face was white and her entire body was convulsing. Wyatt's hands were frantically running over her body, but the healing wasn't working. "Work, damn it!" The blood pool under her disappeared and a little color returned to her face, but nothing else happened.

"It's okay," Piper gasped. "I'll make it."

Chris took her hand reliving this moment. Those were the words she had said in another time when he had been responsible for her death…again. "No!" he screamed. "We'll find a way, Mom. I promise."

Wyatt's hands were pressed against her chest trying stop the blood flow. "What do we do?" he panicked. He couldn't lose his mom. He wouldn't. Losing wasn't an option.

Piper's mind was fogged over. She couldn't think a complete thought. She knew how to heal the wound, but it was impossible. The Power of Three was gone. "It's…okay," she repeated. She needed her sons to know that this wasn't their fault. She hadn't been strong enough. She had hesitated because Prue was still her sister in her heart. Now she was paying the price. "No…way to…heal. Need…Power of…"

Her hand went slack. Chris groaned. "Mom!" he screamed. Wyatt checked her pulse. Her body was still convulsing and he still felt a slight pulse in her wrist.

"Chris, she's still alive. We can still save her." He tried to keep the panic out of his voice, but he was shaken to the core. His mom was bleeding to death in his arms. He felt completely helpless, but his mom had given them a clue before she lost consciousness. They needed the Power of Three. Unfortunately, that didn't exist in this time…TIME. "Do you know the time travel spell?"

Chris nodded unable to think about what his brother was saying. "I can't lose you, Mom! Come back, please. Come back to me." He felt the tears finally starting to fall. His entire body was crumbling. Wyatt shook him out of his hysteria.

"If we go back to when the Power of Three existed we can save her. They can fix this, Chris. Say the spell!"

"We need…we need the triquetra for it to work," he knew his brother was right. The only thing that could save their mother was the Power of Three.

"Damn it. I don't care. We don't have time. We've got the most powerful witches in the world in this room. Say the _damned_ spell!"

Chris tightened his grip on Piper. "I love you," he whispered kissing her forehead.

"The Bond which was not to be done  
>Give us the power to see it undone<br>and turn back time  
>to whence it was begun."<p>

"No!" Prue screamed finally recovered from the blow. She ignored the cries from her body. She knew she was hurt but she was _not_ going to let them get away. She dove towards Chris, latching onto his arm just before they all disappeared into the past.

* * *

><p><strong>PRESENT TIME<strong>

Chris tried to shake her off before it was too late, but her nails dug into his skin. He cursed at himself. This just a hell of a lot more complicated. He shut his eyes and silently prayed that the spell would take them where they needed to go. He landed on something hard. His mom was still convulsing in his arms, but Prue released her hold. All that mattered right now was saving him mom.

"Oh my gosh," Piper gasped. Everything sped up until she couldn't make out what was happening. Wyatt, Chris, _herself, and Prue_ appeared out of nowhere. Prue rolled away from the other three. She scanned the room with a panicked look on her face. Her eyes rested on Phoebe and Paige before finally landing on Cori.

"Cori?" Prue breathed. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her Cori. She was okay. Relief washed over until she realized her daughter's company. _All_ her sisters were gathered around Cori like a shield. She was frozen. Everything about this situation told her to run, but this was her_ family_, all of them. Even her mother and Grams. She didn't want to leave.

Wyatt stood up ignoring all the shocked and confused looks. "We need the Power of Three _now_." No one moved. All eyes were either on the dying Piper or the Future Prue. "_Now damn it. _She's going to die!"

Cori was the first to react. She jumped up sprinting to Piper's side. "Piper," her aunt's eyes fluttered open, "hey, it's me, it's Cori. Piper, you're going to be okay. You're in the past. Everything is going to be okay. They're going to heal you." Tears welled up in her eyes. She knew who had done this. The hole in Piper's chest made it very obvious. "They're going to fix you. I promise." She wouldn't lose Piper. She couldn't. "Get your asses over here!" she screamed at her aunts. "She needs you!" It went against every instinct she had to call upon Phoebe and Paige. But these weren't the people who had abandoned Piper…yet.

"What do we need to do?" Phoebe asked horrified. "We can't heal."

"Power…of…Three…" Piper choked.

Chris let go of his mom, laying her gently on the floor. He grabbed the sobbing Cori and pulled her away. At first, his cousin struggled but she knew she couldn't be close to Piper when the healing happened. "The Power of Three spell," she stifled. "Make a circle and say the spell." The Charmed Ones looked at each other nervously. "Now!" Cori screamed. "Don't let her die, please!"

Everyone heard the desperation in her voice. Chris hugged her tight to his body, careful to avoid touching her back. He knew her scars still caused her pain. He rocked her back and forth staring at his mother. This had to work. This had to work because he wouldn't be able to take the guilt of being the cause of his mother's death twice.

The sisters formed a circle around Future Piper who smiled at seeing Phoebe and Paige…alive and happy and good. They joined hands. "The Power of Three will set us free. The Power of Three will set us free." At first, they thought the spell had failed, but Cori knew it wouldn't. It had saved her. It had to save Piper. Piper deserved so much more to live than she did. Blue and white lights sparkled around the wound, covering it until no one could see it anymore. The blood disappeared around her and the lights flared one final time then were gone. Piper gasped taking in her first big breath of air in what felt like her whole life. Chris felt his entire body go limp with relief. Cori jumped towards Piper scooping her into her arms. The sisters sighed realizing it had worked.

Leo and the two Halliwell ancestors knew something was wrong, but they couldn't take their eyes off Prue. Patty reached for her mother's hand. This was her daughter, but she couldn't find even a trace of the woman Patty knew she had grown up to be. She was thin and her face was drawn. Dark circles rimmed her eyes which looked like a shadowed version of what they once were. Her stance was…_defensive_, like she expected someone to attack her. It broke Patty's heart. Knowing your daughter was going to become evil was nothing compared to actually seeing it. "Prue," she whimpered. Her daughter's head snapped at hearing her name.

Prue looked at her mom and her heart rocketed out of her chest. She always felt robbed whenever she would see her mother in a picture or remember something about her. Her mother had been taken from her. As far as she was concerned, she had been her own mother most of her life. A tear started to fall from her eye, but she shook it away. None of that mattered. She couldn't stay here much longer. As soon as Piper was healed, she would be a sitting duck. And, though she wouldn't even admit this to herself, seeing all her family was starting to chip at the walls she had built around her heart because this wasn't her family. Everyone in the room was either dead or had betrayed her. She was alone. The realization crashed down on her like a thousand tons. Her heart constricted in her chest. She had to get out of here. So she went to the only place where she ever felt in control anymore: the Underworld.

"Prue, no!" but before Patty could stop her, Prue flamed out of the attic leaving only behind a new scorch mark. The Future Halliwells grimaced, but the ones from the present could only stare. If Cori wasn't so relieved to have Piper safe, she would have sent a few very mean sarcastic comments Leo's way, but right now, Piper was safe. And that's all that mattered.

"Alright, so are there any other unexpected arrivals we should be worried about?" Paige put her hands on her hips, unable to take her eyes off the future version of her sister.

Chris busted out laughing. "No, I think we're the last ones," he smiled. Wyatt couldn't bring himself to show any form of happiness towards Paige. For most of his life, Paige had been one of the aunts who betrayed his mother. He did remember a time in his life where Paige had been his loving and sarcastic aunt, but that was a long time ago. Or at least, it was to him.

"Then tell us what the hell that was!" Piper glared at her future sons.

Wyatt and Chris looked sheepishly at each other. What were they supposed to tell them? They had all seen Prue and now she was gone. That alone was a big enough headache for anyone. "They know," Cori whispered rocking Piper slowly back and forth. Her aunt had lost consciousness just after being healed, "about her and me."

"How did you get here?" Chris asked. He was relieved to see his cousin safe, but also suspicious.

"If I ever figure that out you'll be the first to know," she muttered. Anger was starting to build up. Her mother had _attacked_ Piper which meant she had finally taken the dive off the deep end. There was no turning back now. For whatever reason she had been sent back into time, she had to change the future or there would be nothing left.

"I'm so confused," Phoebe muttered. "What the hell is happening?"

"We had to come back in time for the Power of Three. It was the only way to save Mom." Wyatt grabbed his stomach when Chris elbowed him. "What?" he bellowed.

Cori cursed Wyatt for being so stupid. She wasn't scared of future consequences, but she didn't want this Piper to know about her sisters' betrayal at all. She was going to fix this, so Piper would never be hurt.

Leo watched the evil rock Piper slowly and how Chris and Wyatt just let her. It was so confusing. He knew what had hit him when he tried to heal _Cori. _Something that Wyatt said caught his attention though. "Why did you need to come here for the Power of Three?"

"Oh," Wyatt huffed finally seeing why Chris had been so mad. "Not here dad," he glanced at Phoebe and Paige out of the corner of his eyes.

"I still want to know what the heck is going on here!" Piper yelled. This was too much for one day. Had it really only been a day since she'd found Cori lying on her couch? Man, she needed a drink.

"I think we need to split up," Penny cut in causing everyone to stare at her except for Cori and the unconscious Future Piper, "Wyatt, you and Chris go with Leo. The women will stay here and figure out what's going on and what we need to do next." When no one moved, she placed her hands on her hips. "One…two…" Wyatt grabbed his father and Chris' hands and orbed out. Penny smiled proudly. "Men…"

"What do we do now?" Paige folded her arms. This was scaring her more than anything else she had ever gone through and that was saying something. This day just couldn't get much more complicated. She had seen the look in Future Prue's eyes. It was the exact opposite of what she had imagined her eldest sister's eyes looking like. They were cold, scared, and _dark_. If there had been any doubt that Prue was somehow evil in the future, it was all gone. She could only imagine what the view of their sister had done to Piper and Phoebe. What made things worse is that she was out there. If Prue killed an innocent…Paige didn't want to think about it.

"We get answers," Piper said looking at Cori rocking her future self. It wasn't that it creeped her out; she knew that her and Cori were close in the future. It was just weird to see herself being so…needed by this girl she barely knew. She wondered if she felt the same way in the future. She would have to ask herself what had happened to bring Cori and her so close. If that wasn't a confusing thought she didn't know what was. The new arrivals had only added to the urgency and the need inside her to fix everything. She had taken one look at Prue and never wanted to again because that wasn't her _sister_. Maybe her body, but that wasn't her Prue.

"Not here," Cori choked looking away from her Piper to meet the present Piper's eyes. "We need to her on something soft, so she'll be comfortable when she wakes up."

Phoebe cooed at Cori's sincerity. "Okay, how about her bed…or Piper's bed…or whatever. You know what I mean."

Piper laughed at her sister. "That sounds like a great idea." She eyed her niece and future self. "She's not immune to our powers is she?" It felt wrong to talk about herself in third person, but if she didn't she would only get confused and look like a fool just like Phoebe had.

Cori shook her. "If that was the case-," but she stopped herself, "Nevermind. Paige, can you orb her there?"

Paige nodded, "But you'll have to let her go."

Cori's grip on Future Piper tightened. It went against every part of her being to let Piper go with Paige. _This isn't her_, she kept telling herself. _This is her sister_. She sighed finally laying her head gently on the wood floor. She knew that nothing would happen to Piper, but she was already preparing herself to blow Paige into oblivion. Paige bent down and grabbed Future Piper's hand. As soon as they both started to disappear in orbs, Cori took off, heading towards Piper's room. She heard the others following her but didn't care. She had to be there. What if Piper woke up and she wasn't? How was Piper going to act around her sisters? Was Piper going to be mad at her for going off alone again? The answer to the last question was yes. Piper was overprotective and at times a little neurotic. She was going to be furious at Cori.

She threw open the door and sighed in relief when she saw Paige tucking her under the covers. "Sheesh," Paige huffed seeing the relief on Cori's face, "I wasn't going to drop her or anything."

That had been the least of Cori's worries. She climbed on the bed next to Piper, her Piper. Her face was turned into a frown, and her skin was still deathly white. She could see the years of stress and turmoil evident on her face that this time's Piper lacked. If her Piper's eyes were opened, she knew the sisters would instantly see all the evidence they would ever need to prove to them that the future was hell. Not that what happened upstairs hadn't confirmed what she had already told her past family. She stroked Piper's face gently with the back of her hand. Piper reacted by snuggling closer to her body. Cori smiled. "Hey, Piper, it's Cori again. You scared the heck out of me, but I should have known I wasn't going to be able to get rid of you _that_ easy."

Future Piper coughed and fluttered her eyes. She searched for Cori's face and smiled when she found it. "Hey, there, kiddo. Look," she said pulling down the covers to reveal her chest above her left breast. Cori smiled a tearful smile at the scar. She knew what Piper was going to say. "We almost match." Future Piper's hand reached out to touch the spot on Cori's chest where she could feel her heart beating and frowned. "I'm so sorry."

Cori grabbed her hand. "Don't ever apologize to me, Piper. If anything I owe _you_ and apology. If I hadn't snuck off…" the guilt crashed down on her. It was her fault Piper had almost died. It was her fault her mother was able to even get to Piper in the first place.

"Stop it," she ordered. Cori couldn't blame herself for this kind of stuff. There was enough guilt being placed on her niece's shoulders every day. Piper couldn't bare it if some of it was her own fault. "Listen, Cori, I did this. I went looking for her. I hesitated," silent tears ran down her cheeks, "because I thought somewhere Prue was still alive in there. I was wrong, and I'm sorry." She was sorry. She was sorry for everything that had happened to Cori because of her one mistake. She was sorry that the world was in hell because she had wanted her sister back so badly she hadn't been able to see what really happening. If anyone deserved the guilt, it was her.

Cori wiped the tears from Piper's eyes happy to see her aunt finally showing some emotion. "Hey, look can we just forget apologies? We all messed up okay? Right now, you need a new outfit."

Future Piper laughed and nodded.


	8. Hope vs Reality

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this is kind of a longer chapter than I usually do. There was a lot more that I wanted to get in this one too, but I didn't want to make it too long. This one focuses more on the the emotional side of what's going on the inside of all the Halliwells, but some secrets are exposed! JESUS SAVES!**

The other Halliwells watched from the doorway not sure what to feel, especially Piper. She liked the idea that she was so close to Cori in the future, and her immediate trust of the girl was finally starting to make sense. It was plain as day that both her future self and Cori had been through hell, but by the way they looked at each other, she knew they had been through it _together_. She wondered what had happened in the future to bring them so close, but at least there was some happiness in the future. She noticed that the future her also had the same scars all over her body as Cori making her look like a dog's chew toy. She cringed thinking about what torture they had both been through. All because of Prue? Her body wouldn't let her believe that. It was crazy to say that Prue would allow this to happen to her family. A vision of the Prue she had seen upstairs flashed in her eyes, but that hadn't been _her_ Prue. What had happened to change her older sister so drastically that she was now a torturer to her family?

Phoebe smiled at the exchange between her future sister and Cori. She had been worried that in the future, there was no happiness at all, but looking at the two eased her heart just a little. Even from here she could see the haunted, guarded look in her sister's eyes. The same look that she had seen in Cori. Yet a little peace was starting to seep in around the edges. She was glad that Cori could bring her sister a little comfort. The last seven years had been hard on her and her sisters, especially losing Prue, and she knew she wouldn't have been able to make it if it hadn't been for her sisters. They were her rocks, her strength when everything else was falling apart. Looking at the two future Halliwells, she could see their relationship was the same way. Something was bothering her though. Cori had said she and Paige were _dead_. That meant that…her knees almost gave out from under her. That meant that Piper was _alone_.

Paige turned away from her future family. This was more than she was ready to handle. Her first view of her eldest sister plagued her mind. She couldn't get the look of Prue's face out of her head. Her heart kept telling her that this wasn't what Prue had been like when she was still alive the _first_ time. Without even being alive, Prue had been her role model, the one she based all her decision off. Seeing her like that…she wasn't going to let it happen. She glanced at her Piper and Phoebe suddenly jealous again. Phoebe was smiling at the futures, as Paige had now deemed them, and Piper was frowning. She shook her head. What the hell were they supposed to do? They had already fixed one future. If this was going to start becoming an annual thing, she was going to be dead before she hit thirty. Another thought occurred to her, if the future was just going to keep getting screwed up, what was the point in fighting it? She already knew the answer to her question though. There was no point, but they were Halliwells and Halliwells fight pointless fights just so they don't have to give up.

Cori looked back at them. "Piper, do you have any clothes she…you can wear?"

Piper pulled herself away from her thoughts, "Oh yeah, here," she opened a drawer and threw a loose T-shirt and shorts at Cori.

"And I'll go get you something else to wear too!" Phoebe squealed dashing out the doorway, ignoring the looks Grams and Paige were sending her way.

Cori grimaced, but Future Piper took her hand giving her the evil eye. The young Halliwell sighed and nodded. The simple exchange left everyone else confused.

"How are you feeling?" Patty asked breaking the awkward silence. She went to sit on the edge of the bed and was pleased when everyone else followed. She noticed that Cori drew closer to Piper as the others sat down and that Piper tightened her grip on the girl's hands. Why were they so on edge? This was their family. A haunted version of Prue filled her mind. It hurt her to think that in the future family bonds might not mean a thing.

Future Piper smiled at her mom, "I've been worse." _Physically_. She added mentally. Inside, her heart was still breaking from Prue attacking her. She thought she was ready accept the fact that her sister was _dead_, but something inside her just wouldn't let Future Piper believe that, no matter how many times she tried to convince herself. That tiny little voice in the back of her head just wouldn't stop telling her that Prue was alive in there somewhere. But what if it was right? What if Prue _was_ alive? Did that give them any hope of fixing anything? She didn't know. She just had to keep it together until she was alone, and from the looks on her past family's faces, she knew that might be a while.

Phoebe darted back into the room carrying a load of clothes. She grinned sheepishly. "I didn't know what you liked so I just grabbed-,"

"You're whole closet? Yeah, we can see that," Paige smirked at her sister. Phoebe stuck her tongue out at her and returned the sneer.

Piper saw an opportunity to get Cori alone. "Cori, honey, pick out what you want and we'll go change." Pretty much everyone in the room got the hidden message. Future Piper wanted to be alone with Cori.

"Phoebe, leave the clothes here," Piper rolled her eyes as her sister immediately dropped all the clothes onto the floor. She looked at the Future version of herself, "We'll leave you two alone. Just call us if you need us." She grabbed Paige's hand pulling her all to ready sister off the bed. Yes, they needed answers and they needed to find both Prue's now, but all Paige wanted right now was some coffee. She just now realized that she had missed her morning three cups.

"And I'll go make some coffee," Paige groaned getting off the bed. "If we're going to save the future _again_ I'm going to need to be energized."

Penny and Patty followed the sisters out of the room. Patty smiled back at her Future daughter before shutting the door. She kept her hand on the knob for one more second, leaning her forehead against the cool wood. Prue's distorted face and Piper's marred body kept flashing into her head. These were her daughters. She wasn't supposed to see them like this. They weren't supposed to _be_ like this. She had seen the hardness of the war Piper's eyes, and the way she looked at Phoebe and Paige like they were the most valuable possessions in the world. And in a way, they were. You only got one family, and somehow hers had taken a turn for the very worst.

A comforting and familiar hand touched the back of her head. Patty sighed looking into her mother's eyes. "We can't let this happen."

Penny nodded. "We won't, love. Don't worry." Seeing the fire in her mother's eyes Patty believed her. "Now come downstairs. Leave them alone for a minute."

Paige reached out for the mother that she never knew hand. Patty smiled a tearful smile and squeezed her youngest daughter's hand. "We're going to have to orb downstairs," she smiled awkwardly.

"Why?" Penny asked. She _hated_ orbing.

"Oh, well, you have your great-granddaughter to thank for that." Piper smiled knowingly.

Inside the room, Cori looked through Phoebe's heap of clothing finally finding something that didn't make her want to throw up. Piper slipped off her ruined outfit and slid into the comfortable clothing her past self had given her. She smiled knowing exactly why she had given her these clothes. This was her post-demon hunting attire. Piper sighed. This day was definitely not going as planned. Her throat felt like it was coiled around barbed wire and every breath threatened to bring her one second closer to the breakdown she knew was coming. She had accepted Phoebe and Paige's deaths because she had to. In her world, there was no time for mourning, and in a way she had been relieved, as awful as that made her feel, when she found out they were gone. It meant that they weren't her enemies anymore. She didn't worry about having to fight them or what would happen if they saw each other. Her heart felt like humpty dumpty, and no matter how many of the king's men tried to, they would never be able to put her back together again. Now here they were, _alive _and _happy._ She had shut her heart off from memories of her sisters for so long, and with good reason. But seeing them, it brought back all the love and great memories they had shared together. Seeing them also brought back all the crashing guilt.

Cori heard Piper's sharp breath and wanted nothing more than to comfort the only person in the world who she could trust, but she knew Piper too well. If she tried to do anything for her aunt, she would only build all her walls back up. Piper was strong, the strongest person she knew, but sometimes her aunt had a warped sense of what strength really was. Eventually, Piper was going to have to let someone in or she would implode. She could only imagine the emotional pain Piper was going through right now. Cori was used to her mother attacking her by now, but Piper for some reason, still had hope that Prue wasn't completely gone. Cori wanted to believe it, but too much had happened. It wasn't only that that was worrying Cori though. Piper was going to have to be able to deal with seeing her sisters _alive_. She had no idea what was going on in Piper's head but she didn't see any of it being happy.

She threw off her ruined, blood stained black tank top and traded it for a loose grey hoodie. Her shorts were stiff from all the dried blood. She replaced them with a pair of cut-off jean shorts. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she stood up. "Well, how do I look?" She spun around theatrically.

Piper laughed at her niece. "You look…normal, well except for the hair. It really is atrocious."

Cori ran her fingers through her blood and sweat matted hair. "Yeah, I could probably use a shower."

"Then take one!" Piper fell back onto the bed, relishing in its comfort. How long had it been since she'd slept last? She couldn't remember, but her eye lids felt like a ton of bricks at the moment. She yawned before she could catch herself. She doubted she'd be going to sleep anytime soon though.

"Not until you take a nap. Piper, we've been over this. You can't just skip sleep." Cori eyed the bathroom. She really could use a shower. She smelled her underarm and grimaced, but she had to make sure that Piper was going to get at least a little sleep.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Listen," she said looking at her niece who looked like she could use a few hours of sleep as well, "I'm _fine_. No, don't you roll your eyes at me. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I tried right now anyway."

"Fine," the younger witch growled as she walked into the bathroom. "but I don't like it," and with that she slammed the door. Piper waited until she heard the water running before letting out a breath she felt like she'd been holding for hours. She didn't let herself fall apart completely, but she felt her walls all tumbling. She clung to the edge of the bed to keep herself from screaming. Nothing could have prepared her for this day. The war was beginning to destroy Piper; she could feel it. Her whole body ached from the constant exertion of not only fighting the outward demons, but her inner demons as well. Everyone around her thought she had to it together. They knew she was suffering, but they thought she was strong. With good reason. Piper had made herself strong. It was her fault they were in this stupid war to begin with. Every day she wondered if maybe _she_ had been the one to make the wrong choice. Maybe Prue was right. If family did come before everything else, Piper's life would be perfect compared to the hell it was now. Phoebe and Paige might still be alive…

All she had to do was give in, and all this could be over. All the pain and death could stop. Her family could, well, be a family again…

Piper forced herself to stop that train of thought. She knew where it led: surrender. She eyed the bathroom door. She couldn't stop fighting if for no other reason, than for Cori. Cori, the sixteen year old girl who had given up everything, to fight against her _mother_. Cori who had left everything behind just so maybe she could make things right. Piper knew her niece thought of her as a rock, but, in all actuality, if it hadn't been Cori, Piper would have stopped fighting a long time ago. She didn't believe in hope anymore, but Cori gave her just enough strength to keep fighting every day. She sighed, repairing the damage to her walls. There was no time for a breakdown. They needed to find Prue and fast before she turned this world into hell too.

The other five Halliwells heard the water turn on upstairs. "Piper, are there clean towels upstairs?" Phoebe asked anxiously.

"Yes, Phoebe, quit worrying. They're going to be fine!" Piper said _again_. Phoebe hadn't stopped pestering her since they came downstairs about their _visitors_.

"Okay," she nodded not even seeing Piper's withering look.

Paige sat down breathing in the fresh smell of the filled coffee mug in her hands. As long as she had her coffee everything would turn out alright.

"You've been awfully quiet, Mom," Piper said, but she could understand why. It wasn't every day you were called back from the afterlife to save your resurrected daughter from turning evil only to come back and find a future version of two of your daughters and granddaughter. This day really was messed up. "What're thinking about?" Piper didn't know where to start the conversation. So much had happened it was hard to decide where they were supposed to start to solve the problem.

There were a lot of questions floating around in Patty's mind, but she had an answer that they all wanted. There was only one thing in the world that could raise a witch from the dead and keep them alive. "Leo said there was no evil that could raise a witch from dead and that's true."

Everyone was startled at Patty's blunt way to start the conversation. Paige was the first to recover. "So what? You're saying something _good_ did this? That doesn't make sense," Paige couldn't think of anything they had ever encountered that was _good_ that would want Prue to become the evil thing they had seen upstairs.

"No, nothing good did it either."

"Then what?" Piper was starting to get nervous. If it wasn't good or evil then what was it? She knew there were beings out there who were neutral on the magical spectrum, but all the ones she'd been around weren't powerful at all much less able to raise someone from the dead.

"Chris came back to change the future from being ran by evil. Is that correct?"

"Yeah…" Piper grimaced. A future where her _son_ was evil. "But we did change it. Wyatt _is_ good."

"Yes, you _changed_ it. Now here me out, there are forces at work in that control the balance of good and evil. They determine when the balance shifts from either side."

Penny gasped. "No…they wouldn't. They wouldn't interfere that much."

"If someone changed what they wanted to happen maybe they would," Patty shrugged. It scared her to think that such powerful beings would interfere like that but there was no other explanation.

"What're guys talking about?" Phoebe interjected. "Who's this 'they'?"

"The Angels of Destiny," Patty sighed.

"No, wait, I thought the Angels of Destiny were _good_?" Ever since an angel had offered to take away their powers three years ago, Paige had done a little research about them. They were supposed to be good, the ones who controlled the destinies and made sure that nothing happened that wasn't supposed to. "Why would they want the future to be ruled by evil?"

"And why do they keep picking on _our_ family?" Piper's head felt as big as a watermelon. What had her family done that was so horrible that they deserved all this heart ache? Did fate, or destiny, just like watching them squirm? She felt helpless. If destiny wanted it this way then how were they supposed to stop them? Could they stop them?

"The balance of power has to shift before one side becomes too dominant. It's how things have been done since this world was created," Penny smiled when both Phoebe and Paige rolled their eyes. She knew the magical world's rules sucked and that her family had always been very good at fighting them.

"So all the good we've done, everything we've sacrificed for the 'greater good', none of that means anything now?" Phoebe wouldn't believe it; she couldn't. "Then what was the point of it all?" The last seven years of heart ache, pain, and sacrifice ran through her head. Her family was what gave her the strength to get through it all, but knowing that they were working towards a purpose was what pushed her. If all of it was just going to be erased then what had they been fighting for?

"So what you're saying is, the more good we do, the more we're screwing ourselves over?" Paige could barely comprehend what they were saying. If all the good they had done wasn't going to mean a damn thing because they had done _too much of it_, then what was the point? All of a sudden, she felt like a lab rat running around in a maze trying to find the piece of cheese, only to have it ripped away when she finally found it.

No one responded because they didn't have the answer. It didn't make any sense even to Patty. As far as she knew, the Angels had never interfered in such a way. What could make them go against their very core beliefs to change the world so drastically? They were missing something; she knew it.

"So how do we fix it?" Piper muttered finally raising her head. "Because I am not going to roll over and let them destroy our family. I don't give a damn who _they_ are." Everyone stared at Piper with a slight smirk on their face because they felt the exact same way. This was their family they were talking about. Nothing was going to stop them as long as they had each other.

Phoebe caught her eyes drifting upstairs. "We need to make sure we're right first."

"You sure they're going to want to tell us?" Piper asked. She was asking herself a different question though. Did _she _want to know? She had seen the scars, the bonds, her sister, the fear in all their eyes. Was she ready to know what the future might hold?

"Cori said she wasn't worried about future consequences. I guess there isn't much-," Paige stopped herself before she could finish. Her throat tightened and she couldn't swallow the sudden lump. _I guess there isn't much to save_. She was going to say. She looked down at the table trying to hide the beginnings of the tears in her eyes. Phoebe took her hand comfortingly, but Paige was too mortified by her revelation to respond.

They were stricken by another wave of silence each one victim to their own thoughts. No one noticed the passing of time until the water shut off upstairs. Piper sighed rubbing her eyes. She glanced at the clock and groaned when she saw what time it was. "It's only _noon_?"

Paige chuckled. "Yeah, I can't _wait_ to see what the rest of the day has in store."

Patty smiled at her youngest daughter. It wasn't fair that she hadn't been able to be with her girl's in this life, and being around them all again brought back the guilt. It was sad that the only living memory she had of Paige was of dropping her off a church so maybe the Elder's wouldn't take away her other daughter's wiccan rights. Paige had grown up beautiful that was for sure. She had become a true Halliwell woman: strong, stubborn, independent, caring, and, most of all, sarcastic.

"Do you think we should go up there?" Phoebe eyed the broken stairwell longingly.

"Give them some time alone." Penny ordered.

Wyatt's wail echoed down the stairs.

Piper jumped up making her chair slide back against the wall. "Paige, will-,"

"On it," the youngest Charmed One said, orbing out, muttering something about taxi services. She instinctively reacted when she orbed in and saw someone holding Wyatt. "Wyatt!" she cried holding out her arms to receive her nephew. Blue orbs engulfed him and started floating towards her only to reverse their path before they reached her. "What the hell?"

"Mommy!" Wyatt clung closer to the person.

Future Piper smiled sheepishly at her sister. "I just…I heard him crying…" dark memories of her son being attacked in the night flooded her mind, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No," Paige breathed breathing out deeply, "it was instinct." She watched Future Piper's eyes and the way she looked at Wyatt. It was pure, uncorrupted love. She could almost see longing there as well. Wyatt cuddled closer to the woman. "I'll just tell Piper…or you that everything is handled."

"No!" Future Piper screamed causing Wyatt to cringe and look up at her. "No," she whispered. It had been her maternal instincts that brought her to Wyatt when he cried. She didn't want to be alone with her children now. As much as she missed being able to cuddle with them like this, she felt somehow it was putting them in danger. The Manor hadn't been safe for so long… "Um, take him down to…me…and Chris too."

Paige eyeballed her future sister. "Okay…but I think that's easier said than done."

Piper looked down at her past son and couldn't stop the grin when she saw both his fists full of her hair. "Wyatt, honey, go with Aunty Paige," she ignored how her heart throbbed in her chest. It was taking all her willpower not to breakdown and never let Paige touch her children. But this wasn't her. Yes, this was her sister, but this wasn't the one who had left her. She fought back the hurt and betrayal enough to finish her sentence, "Mommy will be down there when you get there. Take bubby with you, okay?"

Wyatt nodded sliding down from her hold. "C'mon buddy," Paige held out her hand, but he wouldn't take it. "Wyatt…" Paige scolded.

"I do it by myself!" he walked over to Chris' crib and taking his brother's hand, orbed them both downstairs.

"You're going to kill me," Paige heaved shaking her head. "Are you guys okay up here? You can come down or we can come up…" this was about as awkward a situation as any she had been in.

"No, I should probably get back before Cori realizes that I left the room," she grinned, "she's a little overprotective." Piper ignored how _right_ and at the same time wrong this felt just talking to Paige. It had been over fifteen years since she'd been able to have a real conversation with any of her sisters. It felt like someone was pouring salt all over her emotional wounds. Damn, fate hated her.

Paige chuckled nervously rubbing her arm. She saw Future Piper about to walk out of the room. This might be her only chance to ask. It was a question she didn't realize she had until just now, but now it was all she could think about. It was a ridiculous question, one she should already know the answer to, but she had to ask anyway. "Wait."

Piper froze, her hand squeezing the doorframe. This was her Paige, the one she had missed so much she felt she would never be able to be complete again. This was her little sister who she had failed. The guilt threatened to finally break her. How did she separate the woman talking to her now from her sister when they were the same person?

"Which side am I on?" Paige waited for the immediate joking answer that she knew Piper was going to give her. Of course, she was fighting with Piper to try and find a way to save their sister. She had seen the way Piper looked at her and Phoebe though. Piper was hurting. Cori had already told them that she and Phoebe were dead in the future, which meant Piper was all alone, so Paige understood the grief. But it was more than that. Piper looked…it was hard to put a pin on exactly what she had seen in her future sister's eyes. She looked _betrayed_ like the hurt she was feeling wasn't only coming from loss.

Piper silently cursed her sister. She gripped the wall tighter to keep her body from imploding. Her heart couldn't take it. She couldn't take it. Hadn't she been through enough already? Again she felt the pressures the war had put on her body. She didn't even feel human anymore. She was a robot cursed with a human heart that, no matter how hard it tried, couldn't escape hurting. She didn't want to be human anymore. She didn't want to be anything anymore. She just wanted to rest. But that wasn't an option. It was never an option.

She turned around to look her sister in the eye. She smiled when she saw _Paige_ being reflected out. This was her sister who she trusted with her life. She would never betray her or do anything to hurt her. Her heart jumped at the unexpected warmth she felt to see her sister. She loved Paige with all her heart could hold, she loved her no matter what happened. The war should have taught her that family can't come first, but looking into Paige's eyes, she let herself believe the lie again. She shut out all the grief, hurt, and guilt to just let herself enjoy the moment. "It doesn't matter, Paige," she finally said. "The important thing is that I love you, no matter what, I will always love you."

Piper started to walk out of the room again, forgetting herself and letting a single tear fall to the floor.

"W-wait," Paige stuttered barely able to speak. Her body went numb at Piper's words. _It doesn't matter_. That's what she had said. _It doesn't matter_. Well, of course it mattered! Paige felt like someone had punched her right in her stomach. Her head started to spin, but she had to keep herself in check. This didn't make any sense. She would _never_ leave Piper. Piper was her sister, her protector. She meant the world to her. She would never…She couldn't…there was no way…

"Please, don't tell Phoebe," Piper tried to hide the lump in her throat, "I don't think she needs to know." Piper shouldn't even have told Paige. She had been prepared to lie to her sister, but when she saw her eyes…she couldn't. What she had said was the complete truth. Nothing else mattered. Piper still loved all her sisters, so what else was there? What else really mattered?

She didn't wait for her sister's response. "I love you," she whispered again. She didn't care if Paige heard her or not. She just needed to say it, so on some level her sister would know that she had forgiven her. She gathered herself, checked her guard, and opened the door to her bedroom. She was prepared for Cori's questions, but what she saw had her completely taken by surprise. Her niece was flipping through a _Seventeen_ magazine with a deep frown on her face. "Well, hello there." Cori jumped and threw the magazine across the room.

"Hey!" she said nearly falling off the bed. Piper laughed at Cori's blushing cheeks. Leave it to Cori to make her laugh when she felt like she was falling apart piece by piece.

"So what's the latest tip on how to get a guy?" She smiled flopping down on the bed.

"Well, it wouldn't be the latest now would it?" Cori grinned. "I mean we are eighteen years in the past."

Piper shot up and stared at her niece. "What?" Eighteen years? That would mean, that would mean that this time's Prue was out there somewhere. "Oh man," she groaned. Her heart felt like a thousand pound weight in her chest. Her sister was out there. Not just the evil ruler of the Underworld version, but her real sister. Piper believed her Prue hadn't given in until Phoebe and Paige's deaths. Their dying would have destroyed her sister, even if she wasn't fighting just to keep the evil growing in her in check. With their deaths, it must have shattered her will enough that she finally gave into the darkness. At least that was Piper's theory. Which meant that Prue, her _sister_, was somewhere. She banished the joyful feeling in her heart before she could even let affect her. It didn't matter if _Prue_ was here or not. She had long ago given up hope of ever fixing what had happened. It just wasn't realistic. Cori and everyone else could believe that they could change what had happened, but she knew the truth.

"She's already back," Cori whispered as if she was admitting defeat, "but I think we can still fix it."

"Fix it?" Piper looked into her eyes, her heart aching at the glimmer of hope she saw there. It was dangerous to hope. Hope had gotten them into this mess. "We've tried _fixing_ it." She hated herself for having to tell Cori this, but the girl needed to hear it. Hope died the day Prue stopped fighting. Piper wasn't going to kill her, and she knew no one else could either. Prue was family. No matter what, she was family.

"I know you don't think there's hope, that everything is lost because our Prue isn't alive anymore," Cori caught the lump in her throat and fought back the tears forming in her eyes. She had accepted her aunts' deaths, but her mother's death was a completely different story because to her she was still alive. Her mom, Piper's sister, just didn't know how to get out of the darkness, "but we can't give up on her."

"Give up on her? Corinthian, she gave up on _us_." Piper hated the words; it felt like she was burying Prue all over again. But they were true and there was nothing they could do about it. Cori looked away, but not soon enough. Piper saw the tears start to fall from her eyes. Piper scooted closer to her and wrapped her arms around her niece. She felt Cori completely go limp in her arms.

"I can't," Cori choked, trying to build herself back up, but the emotional wrecking balls were just too much. If her mother, not the shell that she was now, had given up, then what did that mean? Were they just supposed to end it and kill her now to save the future? No, she decided, there has to be another way. But the way Piper was talking, it was like she had had already accepted defeat and written her mother's execution letter. She looked up into Piper's eyes trying to find the fight that had kept both of them going when it looked like all was lost: it wasn't there. Piper's eyes were beaten and worn down. The war had finally won. It had taken the fight out of her aunt. Cori stood up, backing away from Piper. Unexpected strength flowed into her. She had _hope_. She knew she could make this right. If Piper wasn't going to fight anymore, fine, but she was going to fix this. "I won't give up on her, Piper." She didn't know how she was going to do it, but she was because she was the only person who could.


	9. Corinthian Ruth Halliwell

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Nothing much to say except I hope you like this chapter and if you do review and if you don't it's even more important that you review so I know what I'm doing wrong! JESUS SAVES.**

No one said anything for a long time and to Leo it felt like a thousand years. He watched his sons standing together looking over the city and wondered what was going through their heads. He followed their gazes letting a little peace seep into his system. Coming up here always gave him hope. As long as the world was spinning, there was hope.

Chris looked over the beautiful city suddenly realizing that this was the first time in his life he hadn't seen it in ruins. There was a poster in his room that had a picture of what San Francisco used to look like, or rather what it looked like now, that he used to stare at for hours wondering if someday they could fix everything that ever went wrong and bring the city back to the way things should have been all along. He had memories of the city as it was now, but they were from a different time. He glanced at Wyatt and looked away before his brother could notice. Tears were starting to trickle down his older brother's cheeks.

"It's beautiful," he whispered to where only Chris would hear him. Chris nodded in return. It was. The poster and what he was looking at now was like a rock and a diamond. It just couldn't compare.

Leo respected his sons' need for silence as long as he could. He leaned against the beam of the bridge and closed his eyes relishing in the sweetness of the air. What was the first thing he should ask them? What had happened to Piper? What was the future like? Who was Cori and why was she so close to their family? He didn't know if he was ready for any of those answers, so he started simple. "Why did you bring us here?" Leo opened his eyes and arms to let the wind blow past his body. He sighed already feeling better. This place just had a way to make a guy relax and put things in perspective.

"If I didn't Grams was going to kick me and Chris' asses back to the future," Wyatt sat down laying his feet over the side of the Golden Gate Bridge and facing away from his father. He needed time to gather himself and clear his mind. He had to make himself realize that this wasn't his dad. His dad was dead. This was just Leo.

Leo laughed, but it was more of a reflex than anything. His heart and mind were too jumbled up at the moment for him to make sense of anything. He sighed rubbing his eyes. He needed information. Information only his sons could give him. First thing came first: family. "How are things?"

Chris snorted leaning against the beam of the bridge. The resentment that always outdid his self-control was getting harder and harder to fight. Leo had never been his dad, in any future. Chris had quit wishing a long time ago that one day Leo would act like Chris existed. Apparently, some things just couldn't be changed. "Did you not see her?" Chris didn't know which her he was talking about maybe it was both. His hands were still shaking in his pockets from the shock of almost losing his mom…again. His heart was still reverberating spastically inside his chest. But that wasn't the only thing that had Chris worried. They had brought back Prue. He had no idea what kind of damage that would do. He wasn't so much worried about the future, as much as this time. If Prue had attacked his mother, he cringed at the thought, then she had finally broke. Which meant it was on.

All's fair in love and war.

Leo turned away from his son, remembering how Chris had hated him when he had come back last time. Without saying it, he knew his son still felt the same way. Damn it, why couldn't he do anything right? The glimpse of Future Prue blotted out his guilt. Yes, he had seen her. If there had been any doubt in his mind as to what could happen to Prue, it was wiped out completely. He had never imagined in his most wild, most horrifying thoughts that he would ever have to see any of his family become the very thing he dedicated his life to fighting. He glanced at his eldest son's back and bowed his head. It seemed he _couldn't_ do anything right. "Yes, I saw her," he said ashamed.

Chris saw Leo look at Wyatt and couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the man he despised. He sighed. "I thought about coming back again, maybe to try and change it again." Chris didn't know why he said it, but he felt like this was where they needed to start.

"Why didn't you?" the Elder asked. Chris wanted nothing more than to find some kind of accusation in Leo's tone, but there was only pure curiosity and…caring. Chris would never forgive Leo for everything that had happened to him. Sometimes he wanted to, but he could never fully bring himself to put that much effort towards the man who had only ignored him every change he got. He met Leo's eyes remembering the last time he had seen his father alive. They had fought…again…about Leo not being there for mom, but it had only ended in Leo orbing back _up there_ where he could hide his sorry ass only to arrive as it was being destroyed by demons. No Elders had survived.

"Because it wouldn't have done any good."

All three heads shot towards the voice, and all three hearts pounded in their chests. "Prue…" Leo whispered. His breath caught in his throat at the site of the future version of his sister-in-law. This was Prue, but it wasn't at all. She smiled the same cocky, daring smile. She held herself as if she was ready to take on the world at a moment's notice. Her hair was still as black; her body just a strong. To most anyone who knew her when she was alive, this was Prue, but to her family, this was just a body. This Prue's eyes didn't shine the protective light that had given everyone around her strength. Instead it was like looking into a dead pool of still, black water. Her skin stuck to her face, pronouncing her cheek bones and giving her the impression of being a skeleton. Nothing about her screamed 'I would give my life for you' as she once had. Prue had been the hero of the family; the one who when stuck between a rock and a hard place would dig out a cave to escape. Now she looked like walking death.

"You monster!" Chris screamed. He threw a bolt of energy at her, only to watch it dissolve against her skin. The memories of his dying mother smeared his vision. Red rims formed around his eyes. His heart was flying out of his chest, beating against his ears. Everything went hazy, except her. He felt himself losing control, but he didn't care. She had tried to _murder_ his mom, her own sister. As far as Chris was concerned, Prue was no longer family: she was the enemy.

He tried again to fry her, but she only caught the quenched the streak in her hand. She shook her head, clicking her tongue. Wyatt looked over his shoulder, but didn't move from where he was sitting. He couldn't move if he tried. Unlike most of his family, or what was left of it, he believed that Prue could still be saved. Perhaps it was because in another time, he had been evil and if it hadn't been for his brother, he still would be. He couldn't bring himself to give up on her like that. He also knew that if he unclenched his hands from the edge of the bridge, one of two things was going to happen. Prue was going to die, or he was going to die in the attempt.

Prue hopped down from the beam she was sitting on, onto level ground with her nephews and brother-in-law. She eyed Chris playfully. "I didn't come here to fight," she said smiling when she saw his hands spark with electricity. "I want to go back."

Chris couldn't stop the scoff. "There isn't exactly a time traveling taxi service. Looks like you're just _shit out of luck_." He kept the electric energy at the tips of his fingers. He wouldn't be able to touch Prue until her guard was down.

Prue's hands started to glow red. "I'm not playing a game, boy," she gritted. She hated having to do this. Why was her family so damned stubborn? Why couldn't they just stop all this stupid fighting? But if it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they were going to get.

"Prue," Leo whispered again, "please." It was the only coherent thought he could muster. This wasn't right. Prue shouldn't be talking to her family like this. She would never threaten them. Family was everything to her.

Prue glanced at Leo, but that was all Chris needed. He felt the energy leaving his body and smiled when he saw it make contact with Prue's chest. His aunt flew back, hitting the metal of the bridge. "Damn it!" she yelled charging at Chris, red hand raised.

"No!" Wyatt screamed jumping up just in time to stop his aunt from reaching Chris. Wyatt's force sent her skidding across the platform, almost to the edge. The three stared at her shaking body. Prue raised her head letting them all see her wide grin. She threw her head back in laughter, rising to her feet. "It's game time." She waved her hand which sent Wyatt soaring over the side of the bridge, before he could disappear out of their vision, he burst into blue and white orbs. A white streak of light shot out of Prue's other hand hitting the orbs. Chris and Leo screamed as an unconscious Wyatt appeared again, falling out of site. Leo attempted to orb to save his son, but Prue waved her hand again causing him to fly back and slump against the wall of the platform. He fought against the blackness closing in on him and weighing him down. His son needed him. Wyatt needed him. He tried to stand up but his legs wouldn't respond. He couldn't breathe from the weight all over his body. "Wyatt…Piper…Chris."

Chris watched his father lose consciousness, but Leo didn't need him. Wyatt did. He used his own telekinesis to momentarily throw Prue off balance. He ran for the edge of the bridge hoping to still see his brother and be able to save him. Before he could jump, something cold struck his back. His mind screamed at his body to move, but it wouldn't respond. He felt the adrenaline and sense of urgency roaring through his veins but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what was so important. He had to jump or something horrible was going to happen, but his damn legs wouldn't budge. The cold object in his back dug deeper and deeper into his body. Fire surged from the cold. He screamed from the flames scorching his insides. He begged his legs to comply. He just needed to get over the edge and everything would be okay, but the flames pinned him back, pulling on against him. He felt it digging further in, burning everything in its path. He clung to consciousness by a thread. Something horrible was going to happen if he didn't jump. He knew it.

But the fire only grew stronger as he tried to fight its progress. The flames burned deeper into his body. "I'm not going to kill you, Chris," Prue breathed into his ear, "because Piper loves you." The fire lurched forward, blazing with one final flare then started to recede. He gasped when Prue's hand left his back. Now was his chance. He could barely see or move or think. He just knew he had to get over the side of the bridge. His head pounded against the pressure of having to work. He feared his legs weren't going to comply, but he took a shaky step forward. His back screamed from the movement, but he had to. Someone needed him.

Wyatt needed him. "Wyatt," he whispered. His brain shot commands to all his body to act and fast. Wyatt needed them to, and his body reacted perfectly. He jumped over the side and burst into a million blue and white orbs.

"Good luck, Chris," she murmured. The echo of what she told Chris played in her head. _I'm not going to kill you, Chris, because Piper loves you._ But she hadn't finished. _And I do too._ Would it have changed anything if she had admitted that she still loved all her family? Wyatt wasn't going to die; she had made sure of that. The bolt had barely been enough to knock him unconscious for a second. She was surprised he hadn't already orbed back up here to "save" his brother and dad. She turned to the still unconscious Leo. She walked over and bent down in front of his face momentarily allowing the aching in her heart to take over. She reached down to touch his hand. Prue smiled when she felt it weakly grab her fingers.

His eyes started to flutter. Prue fought against the urge to be here when he woke up. He would be worried about his sons; she needed to be here to tell him that they were okay. But that didn't change what Leo saw or thought. He wouldn't listen to her; none of her family would.

Because she had tried to kill Piper.

Prue still regretted the way she let her anger and Piper's denial get to her. She had crossed the line and she knew it. Being around her family was starting to chip at her hardened heart. She needed to get away, but she also needed to get _back_. "Tell them I love them," she whispered into his ear, "and tell Piper I'm sorry." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and stepped back, looking over San Francisco. She was surprised to feel anger start to seep through her veins. All those people, living life in ignorance at the sacrifices her and her family had made to make sure that their pathetic lives would remain that way. Didn't they know that her family was crumbling apart because of them? No, of course not. They could never know or at least that's what she had been told before she made it a reality. The people in her time knew about her family and their sacrifices; she made sure of it. She ruled over them, not the other way around.

She shook her head. If her family would have just listened, well scratch that. If _Piper_ would have listened, everything would have been perfect. They could have been a family again and this time no one would have been able to tear them apart not even death. But she hadn't and now they were in a _war_ against each other. Prue had quenched all resistance to her power except for one: her family. And no matter how much she wanted, she couldn't bring herself to finish them. They were the reason she had done all this, but now they thought she was the enemy.

Fate hated her. Prue flamed off the bridge to get away before Wyatt and Chris came back. She hadn't seen her two nephews hiding just feet above her in the exact same place she had hidden just minutes before. "Get Leo and let's get out of here," Chris said. His head was spinning from exertion and relief. His back was throbbing and he could feel the blood trickling down. His chest felt hollow and cold.

Wyatt nodded and jumped down to take his dad's arm. "Are you going to be okay to orb yourself back?" He asked Chris who nodded.

Wyatt hesitated causing Chris to roll his eyes and burst into orbs. This was going to be hard one to explain. He knew Chris would use this as evidence that Prue had lost it, and, he had to admit, it looked bad on Prue's behalf. But they had watched the way she talked to their father. She could have killed all three of them if she wanted, but she hadn't. She let them live and told Leo that she loved them all. Prue was still alive in there. He just had to make his family see it.

He took in the view of the city one final time, storing it in his head as one of the most important things he would ever see. His heart leaped seeing _life_ happening. There were people down there, living and being happy, starting families, getting married, falling in and out of love, eating, sleeping, enjoying their lives. This is what he was fighting for. Sometimes he doubted what the point of the war, but now he knew. _They _were the point. Those people down there. His family was fighting for them, so maybe one day the world could look like this again. He grinned with a renewed sense of purpose and orbed away to his family.

Chris orbed into the attic but wasn't surprised when he didn't see his family or the Book of Shadows. Orbing had drained him. He stumbled to the door holding onto the frame. His back felt like there was a huge hole, letting all his insides _out_ which was actually exactly what was happening. The stairwell started to spin; he wasn't going to be able to make it down the stairs. Slowly he sat down, letting his head lean against the doorframe. "Mom," he cried hoarsely. He coughed when his throat felt like he had been stabbed in the throat. He flung his arm across his body, sending the entire hallway of pictures crashing to the floor. His mom was going to be pissed later, but right now survival was all he could think about.

Wyatt orbed into the living room and laid his dad down on the couch just in time to hear the crashes coming from upstairs. "Chris!" he yelled. Damn it. He knew he should have orbed his brother. One day Chris was going to have to learn how to ask for help or he was going to get himself killed.

"What the hell was that?" Piper bellowed. It had better not be a demon or so help her God she was going to go down into the Underworld and personally blow the place up. The five Halliwell's jumped from the table and started towards the stairs.

"Cori! Piper! Are you okay?" Phoebe shouted.

Wyatt eyed the ruined staircase. "You three have to get upstairs! He needs you to heal him!"

"Wyatt, when did you get here? What happened to Leo?" Piper's eyes lingered on her ex-husband.

"It doesn't matter. Chris is hurt. He needs you to heal him." Why weren't they understanding? Chris needed them. As wrong as it felt he grabbed Phoebe and Paige's hands. "Let's GO!" Piper grabbed Phoebe's hand just in time to be orbed upstairs. They appeared in the attic. Phoebe was the first to see her nephew being rocked back and forth by her future sister.

"Hurry, please," she croaked. "I can't lose him, too. I can't." She gripped him tighter to her body. She couldn't lose Chris. He was her son. She was supposed to protect him something she had failed at all his life. Her heart tried to beat itself out of her body. Everything inside her was crumbling. She couldn't lose him.

"C'mon," Piper gripped Paige's hand leading both her sisters over to her dying son. "You have to let go," she told her future self.

"I'm so, so sorry, Peanut. I'll never let her touch you again." Future Piper continued to rock him against her body as if in another world.

Cori touched her aunt's shoulder. "He will be okay. Let him go." The Charmed Ones saw the girl's tear stained face and knew this was horrifying her as well. Fear was pouring out of Cori's eyes and something else too: guilt. But her touch seemed to bring Piper out of whatever hysteric trance she had been in.

Piper nodded laying her son's head down on the floor and stepping away. She gripped Cori's hand for strength. She couldn't lose Chris. She wouldn't live.

"The Power of Three will set us free. The Power of Three with set us free." They repeated over and over again.

Chris felt the wound heal itself up, but he still didn't have the energy to open his eyes. Strong hands wrapped him into a comforting embrace. "You're going to be okay, Peanut. Mommy's here."

Chris chuckled despite the pain it sent through his back. "I'm not ten, Mom." He hated causing his mom to worry. There were enough things in the world being put on her shoulders; his health didn't need to be one of them. He could feel his strength returning by the second. "I'm going to be fine." He fluttered his eyes and grinned when he saw both Cori and his mom looking like they had just seen a ghost. Cori let out a sigh of relief, but catching Chris' eyes turned away. He frowned reading her expression perfectly. "Don't do that, Cori. You know it-,"

But before he could finish she was gone. Piper let the relief slowly leak out. She hugged him tighter to her, but then pulled him away to look her in the eye. "What the _hell_ do you think you were doing?"

Chris shook away from his mom, looking at Wyatt. "We had a little mishap."

"Okay, so that's the second time in an hour we've had to heal you people with the Power of Three. Someone had better tell me what's going on, _now_." Piper glared at her two sons.

"Is everything okay up there?" Penny yelled from downstairs.

"I'll just go get them," Paige chuckled. "Don't do anything interesting while I'm gone." She saw the look on Future Piper's face. If there was going to be a Piper vs. Piper death match she wanted to be there. She disappeared in orbs grinning.

"You want to know what's going on? _Prue _did that to him." Future Piper watched as her past self's face melted from one of anger to one of confusion and hurt.

"She would never," Phoebe gasped couldn't finish her sentence. The glimpse of Future Prue she had gotten hadn't been a good one. Her heart thudded in her chest from the reality that was slowly sinking in. Prue was evil in the future. She had turned on them. Piper was alone, and her family's strength was constantly being tested. Prue had turned on her own nephew. She shuddered away from the thought. There was a connection there; she knew it. But she didn't want to think about it anymore than she had to.

Piper made the connection instantly. She had recognized her son's wound as soon as she saw it. It had been an exact copy of the one her future self had had only on his back, instead of his heart. If Prue did this to Chris, she had done it to the future her as well. She faltered a step unable to keep herself balanced. She reached out for Phoebe; she needed something, someone to hang onto.

"Piper, are you okay?" Phoebe took her sister's hand.

"Yeah, yes," she gathered her frazzled feelings. She met her future self's eyes giving her a 'we're going to talk later' look. "I just…nerves."

Phoebe eyed her sister warily. "Maybe you should go lie down."

"No," she chuckled patting Phoebe's shoulder. "I'll be fine," but on the inside her heart was racing. If Prue really had done that to her, what did that mean for the future of their family? If Prue had tried to _kill_ her…she couldn't complete the thought. It went against everything she had ever known. Prue had been her protector, the wall separating her from being alone. Yes, she was gone, but Piper always liked to think on some level Prue was still watching out for them. Was every truth she counted on a lie?

"Where's Leo?" Chris asked in an attempt to change the subject. He could see it all over his past mother's face. Now she was beginning to understand just how far Prue had fallen.

"Down stairs unconscious still. We should go check on him," Wyatt said. He could feel the tension in the air. It wouldn't be long before his past family started asking questions and expecting answers. He didn't want to be anywhere close because he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. He wondered how much about the future his mom would be willing to tell. He saw the way her eyes kept drifting to Phoebe and knew that seeing her sisters again was slowly breaking her.

"Right," Chris hopped up ignoring his mother's glare. On some level he did care if Leo was okay, but he told himself it was only because for some reason, his mom still loved him after all he had done. Mostly, he consented to his brother's request to avoid the searching eyes of his past mom and aunt. They were looks he was all too familiar with. Questions were fixing to start flying, and he didn't want to be in the crosshairs.

Wyatt and Chris both orbed downstairs just as Paige reappeared. "Sorry, they kept asking questions and then they didn't want to come up here. What'd I miss?"

Future Piper turned away from her youngest sister in regret. She shouldn't have told Paige about their betrayal. She should have just manned up and lied to her. She had let the constant longing she felt for all her sisters get the best of her and now Paige knew something that Piper would have never wanted her little sister to know. Damn, maybe if she would just stop being so emotional she could stop messing things up.

Phoebe didn't know how to explain this to her only little sister. She wasn't good at giving bad news. That had always been left up to Prue or Piper, but from the look on both Pipers' faces, she knew she was going to have to or maybe she could just find a way to avoid the answer all together. "Nothing really."

Piper could see what Phoebe was doing. She didn't want to have to be the one to tell Paige that Prue had attacked her family and neither did she. So she said the only thing she could think of. "We know what brought Prue back."

* * *

><p>Cori shimmered into the Underworld. It was dark, hot, stinky, and dirty but she was alone. And that was all that mattered. She fell to the ground and buried her head in her hands. Why was this happening? Her mother had tried to kill her own family <em>twice<em>. She couldn't stop the outpour of guilt because it was her fault. Maybe if she hadn't abandoned her mom none of this would have happened. Her mom wouldn't have been so consumed with getting her back she could have saved Phoebe and Paige and none of this nightmare would have happened. Her whole body was shaking from the pressure inside her. She was going to blow if she didn't do something. Cori screamed, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn't care if anyone saw her cry. She screamed as loud as she could until it felt like her throat was going to explode.

She poured all her anger, hate, guilt, fear, and betrayal into her screams and tears. She didn't care if she was supposed to be strong or if the world was depending on her. She only one person, a sixteen year old girl at that. Why was it left up to her? "Why me?" she choked banging her fists into the ground. It felt like the whole world was being crammed onto her shoulders. "I can't do it anymore. I just can't."

_Then don't_.

The thought had rolled around in her head since her aunts' deaths. She had always pushed it to the back of her mind. It wasn't her place to give in. She needed to fight, but the surge of strength Cori had felt earlier had failed her at the sight of Chris. Maybe Piper was right and there was no hope anymore.

But something inside her just wouldn't let her believe it. If there was no hope, then why had she been brought back to the past? Chris didn't think the future could be changed for the better, but did that make it true? What if there was hope left and all they had to do was find it? "God, if You're listening, please help us."

"This is a strange place to pray." Prue leaned up against the rock wall. This wasn't the situation she had expected. She had scryed for the most powerful being in the Underworld. The crystal kept bouncing between two different spots, so she had just picked one only to arrive to find this…child having what looked to her like a complete breakdown. A part of her wanted to comfort the girl, but her guard wouldn't let her. According to whatever power it was behind scrying, this was one of the most powerful beings alive.

Cori spun around at the voice. Before she knew what she was doing, she was on top of her mother pinning her to the ground. "How could you!"

"Get off of me!" Prue screamed. She flung her attacker to the side conjuring a fireball at the same time. She was about to destroy the girl, but just as she was going to bring her fireball down, she saw the girl's face…her face. It wasn't exactly like hers. The girl's cheekbones were a little less defined and her lips a little plumper, but the resemblance was unmistakable. The fireball extinguished in her hand. "Who are you?"

As soon as her mother had her pinned, she knew she had made a mistake. This wasn't the person that had attacked Piper and Chris. This was Prue before her psychotic break. This was _her_. This was Piper's sister. This was her mother. Her heart fluttered in her chest seeing the life Prue's eyes. Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. Memories of her and her mom bombarded Cori. "It's you," she whispered happily not caring if it opened her up for disappointment. The careful walls she had built up around her heart crumbled like pieces of bread. This was the mother she had missed, who for the longest time she thought she had lost.

"Who are you?" Prue said again this time a little scared of the answer.

"I'm…I'm your daughter." Cori croaked between sobs. "And you're…you're you."

Prue jumped back from the girl. "You're lying," she yelled. "If you were my daughter you'd have to be from…" Prue stopped appraising Cori. There's no way this girl was her daughter. She couldn't be. Prue had told herself since the day her own mother had died that she would _never _be a mother. But looking at the person in front of her, her heart told her this girl was most definitely her daughter. There was a pull there that she couldn't explain. She walked until she was eye to eye with Cori. Prue assessed her face again. Instinctively she wiped away the trail a tear had left on the girl's cheek. She smiled when she saw the way Cori pursed her lips together the same way Piper always had when she was trying to hold something in. "I believe you. I don't know why but I do."

Cori's heart surged with new hope. _Thank you God_, she silently prayed. Maybe she had gotten to her in time. Maybe this could all still be fixed. Her life taught her to be cautious of things that were too good to be true though. She kept her thoughts in check not allowing herself for one second to believe the lies her heart was telling her. They weren't out of the water yet. "You have to come with me."

Prue searched her _daughter's_ eyes. Her head screamed at her to leave now. She shouldn't trust this girl; she had just met her. There was no way this person was her daughter. But her heart whispered the exact opposite. Which one should she trust? "You have to tell me something first."

"Anything," Cori murmured.

"What's your name?" There was only one way to truly be sure this was her daughter. Prue never wanted to be a mother, but there was just one name she would name her child. She had never told anyone but after her mother died, she bought a Bible trying to find some comfort through it all. She remembered reading one book in particular until she could almost quote it.

Cori smiled because she knew why her mom was asking her this question. "Corinthian Ruth Halliwell."


	10. Piper's Hell

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: sorry for the wait, but I had a ball camp then a bad case of writer's block. But God allowed me to get it done, and that is a blessing. I hope that my block didn't affect the writing too bad, if you have any negative comments please post so I know if I can change anything to make it better and positive reviews are always appreciated! remember JESUS SAVES!**

Future Piper's body felt like a war zone. Her thoughts kept attacking her heart, and no matter how many troops and walls she used, they always succeeded. Everything was crumbling: her heart, her mind, her body, her strength. She had nothing left. No energy to fight, no hope to get her through the long nights. But what was left of her strength kept her on her feet and held the tears at bay. Her past self's words rung in her head.

_We know what brought Prue back_.

She turned to face herself, but her eyes only ended up falling on Phoebe. Seeing her sisters here, _good_, should have given her hope. Future Piper knew that. A lot of things had happened in the last twenty-four hours that should have at least provided her with a little motive to keep fighting, but she was just so damn tired of it all. She was tired of having to keep herself in check whenever someone else was in the room and then falling apart as soon as they left. She was tired of living with the fear that she might run into her only living sister or that she might lose one of her children. She was tired of everything. Future Piper rubbed her eyes, cursing herself inwardly. Even when her body was screaming at her to give up, she still felt that innate voice inside her somewhere whispering the words she knew were true. _She couldn't_.

Cori had said she wasn't able to give up on Prue. But in reality Prue had given up on them. Prue was the strong one, not her. Everyone knew that. Prue was the eldest, the leader, the one who would drop dead before she let anything happen to her family. Until now, Future Piper hadn't realized how much she depended on her sister's strength. Even with almost two decades of war, she needed Prue to be strong. Prue had failed her.

"That doesn't change a thing," Future Piper whispered.

The Charmed Ones' eyes widened at her response. "What do you mean it doesn't change a thing?" Paige asked scared of the answer. Her future sister's words still echoed in her head. _It doesn't matter. I love you._ Was there really no hope in the future? She glanced at the Piper at her side. She could see the built in determination in her face. Piper was the fighter in the family. Paige tried to be strong for her sister's like Prue had, but in all actuality she _needed_ the support Piper always seemed to have. If Future Piper was giving up, what did that mean for the future?

"I mean it doesn't change a damned thing. We fixed the future before remember?" The sisters looked down in shame. "Yeah, and that worked out just splendidly, didn't it?" Future Piper let her voice raise to a yell. She needed to vent. She needed to make them understand that this was the way it was. "The future can't be changed. We just get screwed over. That's what this family is good at. Prue is evil and the future sucks, the sooner we realize that, the better!"

Future Piper glared at the three wordless witches. She pursed her lips, forgetting herself and letting a single tear trickled down her cheek. The words had shattered her heart, but they were true. It was said that the truth will set you free, but Piper had never felt so chained before. Her family was trapped between a rock and a hard place and no one had a pick axe.

No one noticed Cori and Prue shimmer in. Prue took in a sharp breath seeing the future version of Piper, something she hadn't expected. She looked back at her daughter in confusion, grimacing at the scars that matched her sister's. "What happened?" she breathed. The scars tore at her heart, but Prue also knew that time travel was a last resort in any situation. What could cause her future family to take such drastic measures? How much danger were they in? Prue swore then and there that she was going to protect them at all cost.

Cori wouldn't answer her mother. She was grateful that no one else from the past had asked the obvious question. With magic's exposure the witch trial's had come back, but they called themselves the 'Seekers'. Some witches, rather than be tortured and killed, joined them and made them pets which were attracted to magic and would tear apart any magical being they found. If it hadn't been for Piper's quick thinking, they would have all died during the first attack. With the family magic, she put a spell on the Manor that moved it to a different location every twenty-four hours. Sometimes though, the Seeker's pets would still find them.

She shook her head. "Not now." Cori hadn't thought about what she was going to tell her family and now she was panicking. How would the sisters react? How would her Piper react? Only one way to find out. She grabbed her mother's hand, ignoring the way her heart jumped at her touch, and stepped out of the shadows.

Prue smiled at seeing her sisters, all of them. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the three of them, and her heart was hammering in her chest. She thought the onslaught of happiness was going to send her to her knees. "Hey," she grinned unable to do anything else. Her body reacted instinctively at seeing her family. She raced towards them. She was back, and they were back together. Nothing else in the world mattered. Her family was here.

Just before she was able to touch Phoebe, something solid hit her chest sending her flying back. She landed on the floor stunned. Her fighting nature told her to get to her feet. Happiness turned into adrenaline. "What the hell?" Prue screamed jumping up, trying to find the person who dared keep her from her family.

Future Piper lowered her leg, standing in between Prue and her sisters. Her heart was pounding and ripping out of her chest. A day ago she would have never imagined herself being able to touch Prue, but that was a day ago, before Prue had tried to kill her. She didn't let the shooting pang in her chest move to her face. She was going to be strong. She wasn't going to make the same mistake again. Her protectiveness towards her sisters overruled everything else. Yes, Prue at one time had been her sister, but now she was the enemy.

"Don't touch them," she gritted.

Cori knew what was going to happen if she didn't make Piper see that this wasn't the Prue from their time. This was their family member. "Piper, stop!" Cori jumped in between her mother and aunt.

"Cori," Future Piper couldn't keep the hurt from her voice. Cori was the closest thing she had ever had for a daughter; she was her support. Cori was the only reason she was even still alive though the girl would never know it. If it hadn't been for Cori, Piper would have given up and given in a long time ago. Now, she was defending the very person who had ripped their lives apart. The one who had tried to kill both of them. She knew that Prue was her mom, but Piper always believed that if the day ever came the girl would choose to be with her instead of her mother. Looks like she was wrong. She didn't let the crashing betrayal show on her face.

Cori heard the emotion behind Piper's voice, and it broke her heart. Piper thought she was betraying her, but that wasn't true. She was going to fix this. She was going to make Piper's life right, that way her aunt could be happy for once. "Look at her," she had to make Piper see it. "It's _her_." Cori couldn't stop the tears in her eyes. "It's _her_."

Piper held her niece's desperate gaze for a second longer, her defenses fading with dangerous hope. Her eyes reluctantly landed on the person she had once loved. Prue straightened up at her future sister's look, but Piper felt her walls falling apart. This time, she let them. "Prue…" she cried.

The sisters had been stunned at seeing Prue and even more when Future Piper kicked her. Piper couldn't take her eyes off her older sister. The rush of happiness she had felt when Leo told her Prue was back surged forward again once she was over the initial shock. She heard her future self cry Prue's name and knew that the standoff was over. This was their sister. The future didn't matter right now because Prue was back, and they were going to find a way to fix this. She walked hesitantly over to her, not sure what was holding her back. Maybe it was the short glimpse of what her sister could become in the future or the fact that she now knew that one day Prue would attack her and her son that kept her from letting her joy overpower her. "Prue," she whispered and seeing the protective lights that had always shined from Prue's eyes, her heart battered in her chest, "is it really you?"

Phoebe grabbed Paige's hand for support. She didn't know why she was nervous, but she did know that this was a pivotal moment. Prue wasn't evil. Phoebe could see it in her eyes. This was their Prue, and her body wanted nothing more than to run to her sister and fall into her reassuring arms. But the vision of Future Prue kept her in place. She hadn't realized how much it had affected her until now. Prue, even dead, was her rock. Seeing her like that had shattered every truth she had ever known. She stared at her eldest sister, the longing she had felt over the last four years spiraling to a sharp, white hot point in her chest. She needed Prue to be Prue. She just wouldn't be strong enough without her. She glanced at the silent Future Piper, but had to look away. Phoebe knew that Piper was alone, but was now just beginning to understand what that meant. Piper had to live every day in a future where their sister was the leader of all evil and no one was there to help her along the way. They had to fix this, if for no other reason than that Piper would never have to be alone.

Paige was glad for Phoebe's hand. She couldn't take her eyes off Prue…her sister. The hole she left in her heart for Prue began to fill in. She studied every little detail on her eldest sister's face. She was going to memorize it all, every freckle, every wrinkle, every little strand of hair, every mannerism. She had to keep telling herself that this was real, that Prue wasn't going to go anywhere. Her sister was here, alive, and she going to get the chance to love her for real. It felt as if the whole word had stopped waiting for Prue's answer. Paige held her breath. She didn't want anything ruining the sound of Prue's voice the first time she heard it.

Prue took both Piper's hands in hers. Goosebumps pricked up and down her body at her sister's warm touch. Love welled up inside her. Prue looked deep into her Piper's eyes, almost frowning when she nearly couldn't recognize them. There was pain, and stress, and…_hardness_ to her little sister's look. Prue knew that Piper had had to step up and become the protector of the family with her death. Piper had to become the strong one; something Prue would have never wished on her. "I'm here, baby. It's all going to be alright."

Piper let the tears fall and fell into Prue's arms. The cracks in her heart that threatened to tear her apart every day started to heal. Prue was here. She held onto Prue with all her might, afraid that something was going to take her away again. Prue held onto her with the same strong hold that Piper had depended on for most her life. "I love you," Piper whispered.

"I love you, too." Prue cried clinging to her sister. She felt Phoebe and Paige wrapping themselves around her and pulled them into her arms. These were her sisters, all of them. The only thing Prue could remember from the afterlife were feelings, great ones, feelings only rivaled by the happiness and joy swelling in her heart right now. She stepped back holding Paige and Phoebe's hand. Her chest felt like a fireworks show looking at her youngest sister. "Paige," she whispered, relishing in how right the name felt on her lips as if she should have been saying it her whole life. She felt Phoebe let go of her hand and she knew Phoebe understood how her body was being drawn to the sister she never knew. She embraced Paige, noticing how their bodies melded instantly.

Paige laid her head on Prue's shoulder, wrapping her arms around her oldest sister's neck. She sobbed silently holding onto Prue as if she would never let go. She never thought this day would come. She had dealt with the fact that she was never going to be able to see her sister, but now she was here. Her chest was busting with happy bliss.

Prue pulled back only enough to look into Paige's eyes for the first time. She cupped her face in her hands locking every little detail about her sister safe in her heart. "You're beautiful," she whispered through tears.

Cori wasn't watching the exchange between the sisters, mostly because she knew that it was the beginning of the end, or it would have been. Her eyes were stuck on Future Piper who was staring at the four of them, with her mouth open in silent sobs. Her eyes were horrified, like she was seeing everything she feared most right in front of her. Cori knew that's exactly what was happening. Piper blamed herself for the way the future was because she thought she should have been able to stop Prue somehow. Cori slowly walked over to her aunt, placing her hand on top of hers.

Future Piper flinched and blinked like she was coming out of a trance. She met Cori's worried gaze. Closing her eyes, she sighed. "It's happening all over again." Cori could hear the pain and emotion in the words. This was Piper's hell.

"We can fix it. We _are_ going to fix it." She remembered the beaten look in her aunt's eyes before, and looking at them now, she could see the mental war happening within Piper. "We have to keep fighting…for her. We have to be the strong ones now."

Future Piper chuckled at Cori's words, hearing in them the same desperately strong tone her older sister had always carried. She chanced a glance at the past versions of her family and rubbed her temples. The last two decades of sorrow, regret, guilt, betrayal, and loneliness beat down on her will to keep fighting, but Cori's hand squeezed her's comfortingly. The girl had hope, and she had never given up even when she had every right in the world to hate her mother and destroy her. Future Piper knew that if Cori was rested, she could end Prue, but it was never something that was brought up because everyone knew the answer to the question before it was asked. Cori would never touch Prue no matter what she did; their connection ran too deep.

"You don't deserve any of this," Future Piper whispered.

"None of us do, but, in the words of the great Piper Halliwell, we're just going to have to deal with it." Cori smiled seeing some light shine in her aunt's eyes. "Are you with me?"

Piper shot another look at her sisters, together, happy, good, with no real cares in world, and grinned. She turned back to Cori, hoping beyond all hope that this sixteen year old girl knew what she was doing. "To the end." Cori hugged her aunt, feeling thousands of pounds of weight lifting off her shoulders. For once, Piper didn't hold back against the embrace, but let herself completely give in. "What do we tell them?" she whispered in her niece's ear.

Cori moved her head where she was still in Piper's hold, but could also see the rejoicing sisters. Her stomach still churned at seeing Phoebe, Paige, and her mother so close to Piper. Her eyes kept landing on her mother, the person she knew now only in her sweetest of dreams, but this was real which meant they could fix it. She tightened her arms around Piper grateful for the support. "I don't know."

Prue was the first to turn to their future family and see them both staring at them. "Um, Phoebe, Piper, _Paige_, this is my…daughter, Corinthian."

The statement brought the sisters out of the reunion hysteria and back into reality. Piper cleared her throat, "We know. She…she came here first."

"Oh," Prue eyed her family wondering why they looked ashamed all of a sudden, "why do you say that like it's a bad thing?"

"Not here," Cori warned.

"What?" Prue demanded holding tighter on Phoebe and Paige's hands. "What's wrong?"

"Prue, we need to talk," Phoebe tried to lead her over to couch, but Prue wouldn't budge. Phoebe groaned inwardly. This wasn't at all how she had expected their reunion to be. They had just got her back; now they were supposed to explain that in the future she was evil? Phoebe hadn't even coped with it herself. How was Prue going to handle it?

"No, tell me what's wrong _now_," Prue ordered. They were scaring her, and why wouldn't they just tell her? She locked eyes with Future Piper noticing how she flinched away, but not before she saw the look of pure sorrow and guilt. Something horrible was wrong in the future; she knew it.

"Um," Future Piper hesitated wondering if this was right thing to do. Prue needed to know in order for them to stop the future from happening, but was this the right way? "Why don't you all go downstairs and leave me and Prue…alone."

Cori tensed at her side, and Future Piper could instantly see the defensive stances of all her past family. This wasn't going to be easy. "We're not leaving," Paige scooted closer to Prue.

"Please don't make this harder," Future Piper had to make them understand that this was the only way. She needed to be the one to tell Prue; it would be the only way she would believe any of it.

Prue tried to meet eyes with her future sister again but failed. "It's okay," she said. "Go downstairs. We will be down in a minute."

"Prue," Phoebe breathed. "Please."

"No," the eldest Halliwell sighed looking at Phoebe. "I will be okay. It's Piper, honey." She smiled. "She would never hurt me, so nothing bad is going to happen, alright?" Prue tried to keep the fear out of her voice, but she didn't know how well she was succeeding.

Phoebe nodded feebly, reluctantly letting go of her sister's hand. "I guess…we'll be downstairs."

"No," Piper said glaring at the future version of herself. "What needs to be said will be said now. No more secrets or lies or tiptoeing around the truth." Future Piper half smiled at herself, seeing the desperation and hope seeping in around the sides of her eyes. "She deserves to know _everything_. We deserve to know."

Future Piper held her past self's gaze a moment longer before finally releasing Cori and walking over to stand right in front of her. She felt Cori at her side. All of her sisters surrounded Piper unsure of what was about to happen, but Future Piper's focus was on Prue. "There are things that have happened to us that…" she couldn't find the right words to describe the horrific, painful memories floating around in her head because, really, there were none that could. Their lives were hell because of one mistake, and the whole world was suffering for it. "that are more painful than you could even imagine. Are you sure you're ready to live with it?" Years of being alone with no one to turn to except her pillow took her breath away. A hopeless existence reminded her of just what was at stake. If they didn't fix this then there would be nothing to live for. Phoebe and Paige's future, dead, faces blazed across her mind. "Are they?"

Prue felt captured in her future sister's eyes that weren't her sister's at all. They were…pained. That was the only way to say it that even came close. There was nothing there that reminded her of the innocent girl and beautiful woman she had grown up with. Desperation seemed permanently etched into her face like every second Future Piper was alive she expected hopelessness. Prue couldn't control the lump in her throat. This was her little sister, past, present, or future. How could she have let things get so out of control in the future? How had Prue let this happen?

"You came back to change the future didn't you?" Prue asked.

Future Piper sighed. No, that wasn't the reason they were here at all, but she didn't want to think about that right now. There were more important things happening than her inability to cope with what Prue was in the future. "No, we didn't that is a different story, one that doesn't matter." She glanced at her past self seeing the way her eyes widened then turned away ashamed. "What does matter though is that we are here. And we do have the opportunity to change it."

Cori squeezed on Future Piper's arm with excitement. She was so glad to have her aunt back. It had scared Cori to think that she was going to have to face this thing on her own, but Piper was fighting again which meant they _could_ fix it. "And we will," Cori added. They had to. Her eyes kept falling on her mother, her real mother. Her heart ached to be able to be in her arms again, but she knew that that wasn't possible. Not here. Just seeing her and hearing her voice…it would have to be enough for now.

Future Piper sighed. It was a mistake to give Cori such hope. She would have to talk to the girl later. Sometimes Piper forgot just how young her niece really was. Of course, she had been through more than most sixteen year olds could even fathom, but she was still just a girl with her own weaknesses. She could feel it in the way her body was shaking against hers. This day was taking its toll on Cori, but Piper also knew that Cori would never admit. She was too much like Prue.

Prue watched the way Future Piper's hardened resolve seemed to weaken at Corinthian's words, and knew immediately that Future Piper didn't believe that the future could be changed. _There are things that have happened to us that are more painful than you can even imagine_. That is what she had said and looking into her future sister and daughter's eyes she could see all the evidence she needed of what the future was like. "What happened?" she said earnestly. What had went so wrong that her family was in so much pain?

Prue felt the shift of tension in the room. No one was answering her. Her head was reeling. This wasn't what she had expected in the least when she was finally able to come back to her sisters. She knew that eventually demons would come to try and rip her family apart, but she thought she was prepared for that. She had planned everything where her and her sisters would be safe from the endless battle of good and evil, but she wasn't prepared for this of all things. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Doubts that she had suppressed since her return started to edge their way to the forefront of her mind. She had failed her family. "What happened," she said again more determined. "Answer me."

Future Piper remembered the days following Prue's return vividly; she relived them every night in her nightmares. She knew Prue had already made contact with Leo, and that she knew what her life held in the future…at least to some extent. But she had no idea how to even begin to explain to Prue what was going on inside her body right now. Even twenty years later it still hurt Future Piper to think about what her sister had become because of her. "Leo was right," she whispered weakly hating the words. It was accepting defeat all over again and admitting aloud that she had failed.

Prue stared at her future sister letting the full impact of the words sink in. _Leo was right_. Three words that sent torrents of understanding down upon her body. "Oh," was all she could muster. _Leo was right_. Leo's warnings rung louder in her head. He had said she would become evil. Prue instinctively fought the thought back down but somehow it crept its way back into her mind. She held Future Piper's look for as long as she could, trying to find any subtle hint that she was lying. She had to be. There was no way that she could be evil. She couldn't even comprehend the words. But there was no lie on her sister's face, only the tortured look that Prue was beginning to see as a constant feature there. She wasn't lying; three more words that nearly succeeded in crushing into dust. Everything around her became clearer. She noticed the way all her sister's were looking at her confused and worried, the way Cori was searching her face frantically for something Prue didn't know and clinging desperately to Future Piper's arm, the way Future Piper's eyes were melting and the single restrained tear sliding down her cheek. She saw every scar on her future family's body as if they were each a sun blinding her vision. Even when she closed her eyes she saw her daughter's despairing face behind her eyelids.

"But we're going to fix it," she heard Paige say. Perhaps it was because she felt like her senses were in overdrive or just because it was there, but Prue felt like Paige's determination in her voice began to repair her exploding heart.

"Of course," Prue caught herself saying.

Future Piper fought the urge to shake her head. Now wasn't the time though; her sisters deserved hope at least for a little while.

"Prue, honey, are you okay?" Phoebe asked lowering Prue into an antique chair.

All Prue did was nod and lay her head back against the back of the chair closing her eyes. "W-why?" she stammered. She could feel her whole body shaking, and for some reason, she could feel anger starting build up in her stomach. Prue didn't know how she was alive again, but she hadn't asked questions. If it meant she was able to be with her sisters then nothing else really mattered, but now she was supposed to believe that in the future she is-she couldn't even think the word. She stared at her daughter letting the tears fall down her cheeks freely when she saw the same haunted look in her young Corinthain's eyes that were in Piper's.

Future Piper gritted her teeth together, fighting back more tears remembering the last time Prue had asked her that question. The words sank into her heart, tearing apart every truth she had ever known, and it terrified her. "Family can't come first," she whispered not even realizing she said it aloud.

Everyone turned towards her, except Cori who kept her eyes on her mother. She knew her family still lived by the motto "family comes first" but she also knew that was the furthest thing from the truth. That maxim sent the world to hell. It had blinded her family to reality of what was happening inside her mother. It was the reason she was even alive. Cori clenched her fists and jaws to not let the guilt and rage overpower her. If she had her family hadn't been so selfish, thousands of innocents' blood wouldn't be on her hands; their screams wouldn't echo in her head every time she tried to sleep.

"We have to send you back," Cori spoke softly, letting the words slide off her tongue with as much subtle importance as she could manage.

"No, you said we could fix it. If we can find a way for her to stay and not-," Phoebe couldn't finish the sentence. This was Prue they were talking about. They had just got her back and now they were talking about sending her away again, killing her. Phoebe subconsciously grabbed Piper's hand, the pain and grief of losing Prue the first time starting to take control. If they had to say good-bye again…

"We just got her," Paige defended. "There has to be another way."

Future Piper met Phoebe and Paige's hopeful looks, refusing to look at the past version of herself and Prue. "There isn't," she said finally. "Haven't you seen enough? Did you not see _her?_ Or can you not see scars all over our bodies?" She felt herself losing control and she didn't care. Her nightmares were becoming reality and she would be damned if she let it happen over again. "Did you not see my son? I won't go back to no one. I'm going to do it right this time!" She cupped her face in her hands, for some kind of support. "I'm going to save you…" she whispered. "I'm going to save you all…"

Cori wrapped her aunt in her arms, smiling through hidden tears when she finally felt her relax and accept the gesture.

"She's right." Paige, Phoebe, and Piper spun to face their sister.

"Prue, you can't be serious. Tell me you're joking." Piper faltered taking both her sister's hands in hers making Prue focus on her.

"Piper, I won't be responsible for whatever has happened to them. I-I can't," she lowered her sister's hands. Her heart was exploding in her chest. Millions of voices screamed in her head that this was wrong. She needed to stay with her sisters. This is what she had fought so hard for. Her family needed her. She needed her family. Her head pounded with the pressure of the voices. Her body revolted against the thought of ever leaving her sisters again. It hurt her to even think it, but it had to be done. It was her obligation, just like raising Piper and Phoebe had been her obligation, like taking care of Grams had been her obligation, like saving the innocent had been her obligation, and now preventing her family going through whatever hell the future held was her obligation.

But the words telling Future Piper there was no way in any hell that she was ever going to leave her sisters were still traipsing on her lips. Flashbacks of the last month in the Underworld shot through her mind. There had been more than one occasion where she thought she was going to die, alone, and it had terrified her that she might never get to see her sister's again. Her heart had hurt for them more than she thought a human heart could hurt.

"Stop it, Prue! Okay, just stop it right there!" Piper stomped her foot and grabbing Prue's hands again. "You don't know how much we missed you, Prue, how much I missed you. I need you no matter how much time passes or…or what the future holds…I need you…" she had to make Prue see it. Piper didn't have the strength to let go of her yet another time. "We will figure out a way."

Future Piper bowed her head, because in her shattered heart, she knew the words her past self had said were true. She needed Prue and that scared her. It scared her that no matter what Prue was able to do in the future to the world, to her family, to her, that she wasn't able to let go of her older sister. She could convince her body, and even her heart, that she had given up on Prue, but she would never be able to convince her soul because she was weak and selfish.

"Piper…" Prue started.

"No, stop," Piper whimpered. "Stop trying to be the hero. We need you, so we will find a way to fix it."

"I can't do this," Future Piper slid away from her niece and headed to the attic door. Her heart felt like it was going to implode if anyone said another word. She wasn't going to watch the world go to hell all over again. She was done fighting her family; if they wanted Prue they could have her for all she cared.

"Piper, wait!" Cori reached for her arm. Piper stopped but retracted from Cori's touch.

"I'm done. They know, and there's nothing else we can do. If they want to screw it up again…" too many emotions were pounding her chest for her to comprehend any of them, "then I say to hell with it." She met Cori's desperate eyes and sighed. "They will make their choices, but our Prue is out there. I have to find her before she…before she kills someone."

"Piper!"

But it was too late. Piper reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the potions she had hidden there. She threw it on the ground and disappeared in smoke into the Underworld.


	11. If Hope is Alive So Are You

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's the next update. I was torn between two endings to the chapter, both of which would have changed the direction of the entire story. I picked the one I liked the most. Hope you like it and review always :) JESUS SAVES!**

"Damn it!" Cori screeched running her fingers down her face. She knew bringing her mom here was dangerous, but they were in a desperate situation. Cori understood this was a lot for Piper, more than anyone in the world deserved to have to deal with, but her mood swings were beginning to give Cori a head ache. More than that, Piper was trying to find Prue. Even if Piper was at her full strength, she was no match for the powerful beast Prue had become. There was only one person that could stop her, and Cori didn't know if she would ever be ready to do it. That's why this had to work. The future had to be changed because she wasn't emotionally strong enough to kill her mom. She never would be.

"Is it that bad?" Prue asked walking passed her sisters to stand behind her shaking daughter. She put her hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort the girl, but she just shook away, halfway turning around.

"Yeah, it is." Cori closed her eyes and sighed, hating the shivers that were coursing through her body. Her emotions were going haywire, and she was scared. The outbursts she had downstairs this morning had left her defenses against the evil inside her in tatters. It was taking everything she had to keep those walls, as well as the ones guarding her heart intact, and she still had to find a way to save the world before it was too late. "But it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters," Prue breathed hating herself. How had she let this happen? How had she become so weak as to let evil take her over? This was all her fault. She brushed her fingers over her daughter's arms, noticing the way she cringed away from her touch when just moments ago the girl was falling in her arms. Prue winced as well when her fingertips ran over the high ridges marring Corinthian's skin. "I let this happen."

Cori said nothing because there was nothing else to say. Her mother's words were true. It was Prue's fault the world was the way it was. It was her mom's fault that thousands, millions, of innocent people were now dead because of their family. It was her fault that every time Cori was alone she heard screams of terror or saw a horrified face, that she would never know peace because her mother hadn't been strong enough. But Cori couldn't blame Prue for everything; she knew that. The two faces that haunted her most were Cori's own fault. She turned around to fully face the person who was her guardian angel and her deepest fear all bundled into one. She stared at her, smiling slightly when she again saw Prudence Halliwell, her mother, in those eyes. Cori was afraid that she would turn around and find the shadow that was alive in her time, but the change hadn't happened yet. A dark memory flooded her consciousness and constricted her hold on her defenses. Her deepest and darkest secret brought out into the light, one that if anyone knew, she would lose everything.

"_You let her do this to me!" Cori screamed trying to get away from her aunt's hold. "Get away!" she screeched again. Her entire body felt like it was burning, inside and out. Everything hurt and she could feel herself getting weaker as her lifeblood spilled out on her aunts._

"_Cori, stop fighting. We can fix it," Phoebe cried. _

"_Get away!" she wailed. "I don't want your help!" The crashing betrayal wrecked her more than the fire. They had _watched_ as her mother sent the fiery whip down on her, stealing her life force with every strike. No one did anything as she screamed for help and mercy. They had let her destroy her body until she could barely move. Everything was blurry. She had no idea what betrayal felt like until now. Her mother, her aunts, her cousins, everyone. Anger built back up the walls around her heart, but not around the evil that was constantly whispering temptations into her thoughts. She felt herself diminishing and the evil taking over her entirety. She didn't fight it. They needed to suffer; they deserved it. _

_Cori couldn't see anything, but she knew exactly where they were. Paige was holding her face down into the ground and Phoebe was standing to her right. _

"_Through fire and flames_

_Let love come back_

_And heal the wounds _

_Of this punishments act."_

"_Ahhh!" Cori shrieked feeling the magic course over her back, ripping the strips on her back into huge openings. They were trying to kill her. The betrayal knocked the air out of her, leaving her with nothing to fight with. The evil was close to taking control; it was too late to fight it even if she wanted to. They were going to pay._

"_What the hell?" Paige exclaimed watching as the spell seemingly tore away what was left of her niece's back. "Why didn't it work?"_

"_I…don't…" Phoebe couldn't talk. She couldn't think. This wasn't supposed to happen. She should have stopped Prue to begin with, but it would have solved nothing. Prue was changing. Phoebe could see it, Paige could see it, everyone could see it. The darkness was finally beginning to consume what was left of her sister. Phoebe wouldn't have stood a chance, and there would be no one left to protect Cori from what was happening inside her. "It…should…have…healed her."_

_Cori scoffed. "Now you're concerned about me?" Just a few more seconds and her aunts would know the severity of their mistake. They had sided with the wrong Halliwell. The fire was slowly beginning to recede from her fingers and toes, but it wasn't disappearing. It was culminating. Every spark was rolling towards her heart. It felt like she was being burned alive, but Cori was done screaming._

"_Cori, we never meant for this to happen!" Phoebe stammered. "We love you."_

_The fire was scorching her chest. Just a moment longer… It blistered her heart; she had to let down her walls there as well. The blackness closed in around it._

I'm done fighting_. She told the evil. _Take them._ The walls shattered around her heart, letting her evil consume her. She felt the dark power start to leak out into the rest of her body. The wounds from her mother's punishment were nothing compared the energy flowing through her veins. "Get. Off. Me." Cori ordered rolling over which sent Paige flying against the rocky wall. _

"_Cori, stop!" Phoebe didn't back away as Cori had expected. She stayed, well bravery wasn't going to save her now. "Cori, listen to me. This isn't you. You're not evil."_

"_But you are," Cori growled. Anger and betrayal played dangerously around in her heart with her evil presence. "You let her do this to me."_

_Phoebe didn't say anything; she met her niece's eyes, ashamed. Even through the red haze around her vision, Cori could see the regret and lament in her aunt's eyes. _

It's a trick_, the evil whispered, _she's just trying to save her skin.

_Cori pressed on, another step closer to her aunt. Phoebe straightened her shoulders. "Look at me, Cori. This isn't you. This is her. You're not evil. You can still fight this."_

_She stopped. "I am nothing like her. You have no idea what you're talking about." Rage blinded more of her vision and fueled more of the anger towards the person in front of her. She had to die. It was the only way she would ever be safe. And her mother was next. _

"_You have to fight it," Phoebe hesitated unsure if this was right thing to say. She saw the bloodlust and darkness in her niece's eyes and knew that she had already allowed the evil to take control of her. Phoebe didn't care about her own life. She needed to protect Cori…from herself. "You have to do it…for Piper." Phoebe's eyes widened as her niece's hands started to shine the darkest of blacks. The blackness slithered up her arms and down her chest, covering her entire body._

"_Don't you dare talk about her! You lost that right the day you betrayed her!" Cori reached out and clenched her hand into a fist._

_Phoebe gasped for air, feeling the magical hold constricting her throat. Her lungs fought to work, but her chest was imploding. She had failed. Prue was lost, and so was Corinthian. _

"_Cori!"_

_The voice poured new anger into her heart. "Paige, you're next," she gritted._

"_Look at her, Cori!" Paige screamed praying to God that this would work. She couldn't lose another family member to evil. "Look at her!"_

_Cori groaned tightening her magical grip on her aunt's throat, but complying to Paige's request. She stared at Phoebe, smiling wryly as her aunt choked for air that would never come. Phoebe met her eyes. Cori fumbled a step. Her heart jumped inside her chest, but she couldn't understand the emotion. The darkness was too great. _

"_She's family. You can't do this. This isn't you. You do this, and it's over." _

_The evil screamed threats and temptations to her heart, causing Cori to squeeze her fist tighter. "Stop!" she screamed. The evil was ripping at her heart, tearing away who she had fought to become since she changed sides. She felt herself disappearing inside her own body, but this time it scared her. The evil was trying to kill her. _

No, they are.

_Cori whimpered against the pressure building up inside her. "Cori, she's dying. You have to make a choice."_

_Cori stared into her aunt's desperate, loving, guilt ridden eyes, and knew she was telling the truth. They loved her, but that didn't change anything. The darkness was in her heart. It was controlling her. She willed her hand to open, to release Phoebe, but it didn't comply. "I can't," she cried frantically. "It's too late."_

"_No, it's not! Fight it, damn it!" _

_Cori screamed trying to find a weakness in the darkness that had taken over her heart._

I have no weakness. It's too late.

_Cori fell to her knees under the evil's voice, her fist still closed. The evil was sinking deeper and deeper into her heart, erasing her more with every movement. Soon there would be nothing left. Cori held Phoebe's smiling face for a second longer. In that one second, she understood everything that her aunts had done to her and she forgave them for it. She had failed them too. "I'm so sorry." She stammered with her last bit of strength. "I…I love you too." Cori screamed letting the rush of love she felt for her aunts pull at the evil that was drinking her soul away. She had no hope that it was going to work, but love was the only thing she had left. _

_The love startled the evil. As the love grew, the anger and betrayal faded. Hate and love can't exist in the same heart. Without the crashing emotions destroying her, the evil had nothing to feed off. "You can't have me!" Cori shrieked. She didn't care about herself at the moment. All that mattered was saving her aunt. The evil fought every thought, every action with such a force Cori didn't know if there was any chance of succeeding. She focused all her energy, energy needed in taking back control of her body, on her clasped hand. Slowly, grudgingly her fingers moved, releasing her hold on Phoebe's throat. Cori heard her aunt gasping for air. "I'm so sorry…" she panted._

_Phoebe crawled desperately towards her niece and cupped her in her arms. Fresh tears fell down her cheeks when she saw the blood still oozing from her wounds. "Cori…"_

_Paige bent down to cradle Cori's face in one of her hands. "What do we do now?"_

"_Interesting you should ask."_

_The two Charmed One's didn't turn around at the voice. It was their sister, but it wasn't her at all. "Prue, leave us alone," Paige gritted. She tried to mask the fear in her voice. Cori was going to die soon unless something was done fast. She didn't know what Prue would do at this point. She had nearly killed her own daughter. Were they safe? If it came to fight, they would all die. _

_Both of her sisters had their backs to Prue. She could see Cori trembling in Phoebe's arms. "How…how is she?"_

_Phoebe didn't hear any care in Prue's voice only a darkness that shouldn't be there. Phoebe had tried to convince herself over the last few months that her sister hadn't been changing, but after tonight there was no doubting it. Prue had gone over the deep end; there was no bringing their sister back. The guilt poisoned her heart, but knowing Prue was lost threatened to break her. She hid the tears as best she could. "She's dying," Phoebe snarled._

"_And you're trying to save her?"_

_Phoebe faced the body of what used to be her sister. "She's your daughter Prue. She's our niece. She was only-,"_

"_She was only caught with the enemy!" Prue yelled._

"_Since when is Piper the enemy?" Paige called back. "Why are you acting like this?" But the sister's knew the answer. This wasn't Prue. For some reason, Prue had stopped fighting. Evil had won inside their sister._

_Prue glared at her sisters feeling the constant aching in her heart begin to take form into anger. Piper. She had betrayed her, for reasons Prue couldn't understand, and now she was turning her whole family against her. She had already taken Cori from her; she would be damned if she let Piper have Phoebe and Paige as well. "Get. Up."_

_Phoebe turned back to Cori. "We need to get her to Piper. Maybe she will be able to heal her. Cori, baby, it's going to be alright."_

_Cori chuckled hoarsely. She wanted to believe that the words coming from Phoebe's mouth were true but she couldn't. Her whole body felt weak and was getting weaker by the second. The pain had come back when she had conquered the evil back into whispers in her head. The fire was burning all through her again. She found Phoebe's worried face, frowning when she saw that her throat was red and bruised. "I'm so sorry," she cried. "I was just…I'm sorry."_

"_Shh," Phoebe cooed. "I should be the one apologizing."_

"_I said get up!" Prue shouted. She waved her arm at her family. Phoebe screamed as she hit the rock wall and slumped unconscious. _

"_Prue, stop it!" Paige yelled standing over her niece. Cori needed to live. She was the world's only hope of stopping Prue. _

_Prue eyed Paige, not letting the hurt and guilt touch her face. She hated being this way, but they were leaving her no choice. Prue held out her hand smiling when a struggling Paige slid towards her. "You can't fight me, Paige."_

"_Like hell I can't. Rock!" Paige waved her arm at her sister and sent a huge rock heading her way. Prue used her free hand to stop the rock in its path just before it hit her. The rock disintegrated to dust. Prue's hand was just inches from Paige's chest and it began to glow red. _

"_No!" Phoebe screamed charging Prue. Prue squinted her eyes causing Phoebe to press up against the cavern wall. "Prue, what're doing? Stop it!"_

_Cori heard her aunts' cries, but didn't have the energy to move much less get up. Her body was still fighting against the evil and against death. "I'm sorry…" she whispered again barely audible. Cori had never felt so helpless. Her mother was going to kill them and then she would be next. She fought to stay awake. _Please, God, give me strength, _she prayed._ _She hoisted one side of her body up and nearly collapsed into unconsciousness from the pain, but this was for them not her. _

"_You going to try and save them, Cori?" Prue laughed._

_Every part of her body shrieked at her to fall back down. Her strength had abandoned her when she needed it most. _If you let me have control you can save them, _the evil whispered. No! she screamed in her head, this is my fight. She fought to her feet, shaking from exertion._

_Paige swallowed her yelp when Prue's ice hand pierced her chest. The fire licked at her skin, burning its way to her heart. She tried to pull Prue's hand away but it just dug deeper into her. _

"_Come and save them," Prue challenged watching as her dying daughter fought to her feet. She felt the power surging through her body. Nothing could stop her, not even her family. Her heart was exploding in grief and screaming at her to stop what she was doing but the power drowned out everything else. _

_Cori stared at her mother, seeing the raging darkness in her eyes, the evil turn in her lips, the ruthless edge to her stance. This wasn't her mother, but even with that knowledge Cori was frozen where she stood. It had taken more energy than she had to get to her feet, but she could still save her aunts. All she had to was take one shot at her mother, and they could both escape. "I can't…" she admitted. Even seeing the demon her mother was becoming, or had become, Cori couldn't bring herself to move. She couldn't, wouldn't hurt her mother. _

"_Then they will die."_

Cori rubbed the black scar the marked where her heart had been nearly ripped out of her chest. She gritted her teeth and blinked away the tears. She would allow the guilt to torture her on the inside, she deserved the pain, but she would be damned if she let her mother see her fall apart in any time. The shame of what she had allowed her mother to do tormented her every second of the day, and sleep was no comfort. Phoebe and Paige were dead because she hadn't been strong enough to face the reality that maybe her mother really was gone. In their last moments in this life, her aunts had proven that they still loved her, and she had let them die. Now she lived every day with a dark cloud over her head and heart. "I'm sorry," she murmured under her breath, hoping that wherever they were, Phoebe and Paige heard her. She paused remembering that they were right in front of her.

She could change it. She had to.

* * *

><p>Future Piper appeared in the Underworld. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she chimed. She tried to ignore the crashing feeling in her chest. You can fool everyone else around you; you can't fool yourself though. It was a lesson Piper had learned the hardest of ways. She had to steady herself against the stone wall. The cavern was suddenly blurry, and Future Piper couldn't focus. "Damn," she cursed. Now wasn't the time to be losing grip on her sanity. She waited for the wave of dizziness and nausea to pass. Unfortunately, the feeling of being a hollow shell of pain stayed. She shook away the breakdown she felt coming. It wasn't time for that either.<p>

If she broke down now, she would never recover. If she let that first tear fall, she knew that she die of grief.

Someone else had to die before she could. That's why she was in the Underworld. There was only one way to fix the future now, and it was up to her. Cori couldn't do it, so she had to. "God, I know I've been faithless, but if you will please…" What was she supposed to ask for? To allow Him to kill her sister? "please let this work," she finished.

"I know you're looking for me, Prue!" She drew away from the wall into the middle of small cave. "Well, here I am. It's time to finish what we started!" Piper readied the potion in her hand. She searched through her mind trying to find the slightest of hint that Prue had responded to her call. She opened back up the bond that she had severed almost twenty years ago. Her head exploded in screaming voices. She dropped the potion which shattered the glass and spilled its contents onto the dusty ground. It felt like her mind was going to burst open from the pressure of the pain in the thousands of cries blasting in her head. She screamed trying relieve some of the tension, but she couldn't even hear her own scream over the others.

_Sever the bond_, someone whispered so quietly Piper wondered how she had heard it. Piper disconnected herself from her sister and collapsed to the ground coughing. Her hands were shaking under her, but at least now the only cries of pain she heard were from her own awful memories. "What the hell was that?" she breathed.

"That was your sister's mind."

Future Piper struggled to her feat. "And who are you?" She eyed the grey robed woman in front of her. Her head told her she had seen this woman before, but she couldn't remember where from. She certainly didn't look like she belonged in the Underworld. Her robe was adorned with silver and white runes and trimmed with gold. Her black hair was pulling back into an intricate bun, and her white skin was untarnished by the dirt of her surroundings. Piper found herself unable to look away from the woman's large, shining silver eyes. There was wisdom there and peace. They almost made Piper forget everything that had happened to her, the reason she had come down here, the hopelessness the world above held. Almost.

"I'm the answer to your prayer. There isn't much time. The window of opportunity is almost through. You have been sent here for a purpose."

Piper couldn't stop the scoff. "To watch everything to go hel-fall apart again?" She didn't turn her back on the woman, but went over to the side of the cave and slid to the ground. The woman didn't move.

"You have been taught that everything happens for a reason. Don't abandon that now."

Future Piper held back her sarcastic comment. She didn't have time for this. Prue was out there. "If the Elders sent you…" the name sounded weird on her lips. The Elders hadn't existed for years.

"I am beyond the Elders. I serve Someone higher."

"Oh?" Piper said feigning being impressed. "Well, you can go tell that 'someone' that those little mottos I was 'taught' only ended up ruining my life, so I have no intention of following them. They gave up on me first."

The woman smiled a smile so pure it sent shiver through Piper's body. "What if they meant your redemption, and your entire family's, including Prue?"

Piper's head snapped then bowed. "Prue isn't alive anymore," she admitted. She pursed her lips as the hurt started to fill her up again.

"Keep fighting, Piper. Hope lives."

"How do you kno-," but the woman was gone. Piper searched the cave with her eyes and seeing that she was truly alone, pulled her knees up to her chest. She buried her hands in her knees, wrapping her arms around her. She didn't cry because she couldn't. Decades of holding her breakdowns in wouldn't allow her to. _Hope lives._ The sentence sent more shivers across her body. She came into the Underworld fully prepared to die, but now all she wanted was to get back to Cori, to tell the girl she had been right. Piper reached into her pocket, pulling out the last transportation potion she had. If she went back to them, she didn't know what the future would hold, which was ironic. Could they really fix all this?

_Hope lives._

Future Piper smiled. She raised her arm to throw the potion on the ground that would send her back to the Manor, but before she could drop it, it flew out of hand and busted against the wall. "What the hell?" Piper jumped up trying to find her attacker. Years of war taught her never to panic. She called the fear building in the pit of her stomach. "Show yourself."

Prue materialized right in front of her. "Hello, sis."

"Prue…" Future Piper saw the terror in Prue's eyes, but she also saw the cold that had overtaken her sister. This wasn't Prue. This was the person Piper had come to kill.

Future Prue's hands glowed red. "Let's finish this." Prue jabbed her arm at Piper, but not fast enough. Piper was able to duck away from her deadly touch. She slid behind her, wrapping one arm around Prue's neck and squeezing. Prue grabbed Piper's with her glowing hands.

Piper screamed as her skin was burnt, but she didn't let go. The pain from the burns brought back the nausea and dizziness. She fell to the ground, still choking Prue. Prue dug her hands deeper into her sister's arms. "Let…go…" she gasped.

"Never." She wound her legs around Prue's successfully trapping their bodies together. Prue's hands seared her skin, but she clasped her own hands together behind Prue's head. Prue seeing that her hands weren't going to make her sister let go, released her hands. She felt Piper shudder behind her. Her mind was going hazy from lack of oxygen and her chest was imploding. Her lungs begged for air, but her throat was completely closed off. For the first time in over two decades, Prue feared she was going to die.

Piper ignored her Prue's wheezing gasps. She tried desperately to separate her victim from the person she loved, yet even in her death grip, Piper loved Prue. She would always love her, but was love enough to justify letting her live when all Prue had done was destroy everyone's lives? She begged for forgiveness from someone, anyone, from Prue. She had to understand that she would always love her, but things weren't that simple. She could literally feel her heart bleeding out into the rest of her body. "I love you. I'm sorry." The words were true, but Piper wanted them to be a lie. She didn't want to love Prue anymore. It would make this so much easier. She felt her grip slipping on Prue's neck. _No_, she yelled at herself, _I have to do this. _

She heard Piper's declaration of love, and it broke her heart more than Prue knew a heart could be broken. She could flame out, but it would only bring Piper with her. She fought against Piper's hold trying to find a way out, but she couldn't, not without killing Piper. Phoebe and Paige's bodies blistered her eyes. She silently screamed against them. The guilt tore at her chest. She had killed them. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, too, P-piper." If it came down to who was going to survive, Prue would choose Prue, but she still had time to figure out a different way.

When Piper had reopened their bond, Prue felt immediately. Piper was calling her out, and she wasn't going to allow anyone to make a fool out of her. But like always, Prue let her emotions get in the way, and that's why Piper was still alive, for how long Prue didn't know. Her sisters' faces, all of them, were steadily driving her insane. Eventually, she was going to have to completely separate herself from Piper. Only one of them could win in the end, but she wasn't ready to let go just yet.

Piper yelled letting the tears fall without even trying to stop them. Her whole life flashed before her eyes, like she was the one who was going to die, and in a way, she was dying. A memory she had tried her hardest to forget blotted out everything around her.

_Piper looked over the city, barely able to stop the tears. Smoke rose from almost every building; she heard the dying, tortured screams from the people who had been entrusted in her care, who she had let down. Even from the top of the bridge she could smell the smoke and death. _

"_I never meant for it to be this way."_

_Piper didn't turn around. The city's evil below her was nothing compared to the evil standing behind her. The guilt of letting the world become hell, was nothing placed next to the guilt she felt towards her sister. "Neither did I," she said. A comforting, strong hand fell on her shoulder. Piper laid her head against it, forgetting for just a moment that this was her enemy. She sighed trying to fool herself into believing that this wasn't one of the happiness moments of her life. Prue, her Prue, was here. Right now they weren't Piper, the leader of the resistance, or Prue, the ruler of the Underworld. Right now they were sisters. Piper never wanted this moment to end, but there were a lot of things she wanted that she would never be able to have. "But it doesn't change anything." She hated the words. She hated herself for having to say them._

"_I know." _

_Piper heard her sister in that voice, and she was scared that before this day was over she was going to give into the lie. Piper turned to face her sister, preparing herself for the onslaught her heart was due. She didn't look in Prue's eyes, not yet; she only wrapped her arms around her sister, needing the support Prue always had. "I'm scared," she confessed. "I don't want it to be like this."_

_Prue embraced her little sister, rocking her slowly side to side. She started to hum the lullaby she had used when they had all been kids and Piper or Phoebe was having trouble getting to sleep. Piper recognized the song immediately; she hummed it to her children when their nightmares kept them from sleep. Slowly, she felt her walls diminishing. "I want you back."_

"_I never left, Piper. I just…I just changed."_

"_Sometimes I wonder if you're even still alive in there."_

_Prue didn't anything for another second. "Piper, please, not here. Can't we just enjoy each other?"_

_Piper heard the desperation in her sister's tone, and knew that she wanted this to last forever as well. A wave of smoke clogged her lungs, bringing her back into reality. She squeezed Prue tightly, before reluctantly letting her go. She bowed her head, afraid to look Prue in the eyes. She wasn't scared of seeing the evil Prue. No, what terrified her more was that she might find her sister, lurking somewhere beneath all the pain and darkness. "No."_

Piper released her hold on Prue who gasped repeatedly for air. "Piper," she kept wheezing, "Phoebe…Paige…" Piper clung to her sister, but this time it wasn't deadly. She rocked Prue slowly back and forth. She kissed the top of her head tearfully, humming a sweet familiar tune.

_Hope lives._

"I can't…I can't do it." She knew she was being weak. The world was depending on her, but she couldn't do it. This was still her sister. "I'm so sorry," she apologized not to Prue, but to innocent people she was letting down.

Prue coughed in her sister's embrace. She clutched to Piper with all her strength. She wanted to let herself love Piper. She wanted Piper to be her sister again, but that would never happen. "This…doesn't change…anything," she whispered weakly. She couldn't kill Piper, but every day her sister was alive, it threatened her own life. It seemed like every time she thought about Piper, her thoughts instantly strayed to Phoebe and Paige. Their deaths were on her conscious, their pleas rang in her ears.

"I know, but I'm still fighting for you. Do you hear me, Prue? I'm fighting for you, so you better start fighting for me. I can't do this without you." She watched her sister's eyes, hoping dangerously that she would see a hint of the person she loved there. "I'm not asking for much, damn it. Just fight, okay?" There was no change. Her eyes remained hard, black, cold.

"A life for a life, Piper," she coughed. "Leave."

Piper heard her own labored breathing. She lingered a second longer. She had seen it. Maybe it was blind hope or wishful thinking, but she had seen it…her sister. Behind the threatening words, she heard the quiet softness of her sister's voice. Hope leaped into her heart, banishing away all her pain, for at least this one moment. It had happened to fast, Piper didn't know if it was real, but she couldn't have made it up even in her most wishful of dreams. There had been love in Prue's eyes.

"Leave."

Piper laid Prue's head down on the ground. She could feel how weak her sister was. _Her sister._ She backed away to edge of the cavern. "If hope is alive, then so are you," she murmured under breath.


	12. No Way Home

**Okay, I know I haven't updated this story in a very long time. In all honesty, I hadn't planned on finishing it. But the most recent comment resparked my confidence and interest. I didn't know how I was going to finish the story, and I felt like it was losing purpose. I still don't know how I'm going to finish. But I hope I do so in the next few chapters. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE GUEST REVIEWER. That last comment was so encouraging. You're the reason I even picked this story up again. You rock. **

* * *

><p><strong>No Way Home<strong>

"I'm going to find her," Cori said. She knew exactly what Piper was planning. She was going to find Prue and fight her. _Because that worked out so well last time_, she grimaced. Piper was going to have to learn her limits. Prue was just too damned powerful, and Piper was still weak from their last meeting. She cringed away from the memory of blood pouring from her aunt's chest.

"Us too," Chris stepped forward. "We have unfinished business with-" he stopped, glanced quickly at Prue then turned away leaving Prue more confused than before. Why was everyone keeping this secret from her? Who were they so scared of they couldn't even say her name? And why had her future sister run off on some apparent suicide mission? _It's me._

She didn't know why she had the thought, but it was the only answer that fit. With so many people from the future here now, why couldn't she be? And if she really was evil... "No..." she gasped. She grabbed Cori's shoulders. The girl twisted away. Both Wyatt and Chris took a challenging step forward. "Tell me it's not me," she said.

Cori sighed. She looked into her mother's eyes trying to find the will to lie to her, to tell her of course it wasn't her. Why would they be afraid of her? She would never hurt Piper, but Cori didn't have the strength to lie. She was tired of everything, of fighting, of feeling guilty, of constantly hurting the people around her. She shouldn't have to lie. Her mother shouldn't have turned evil in the first place then she wouldn't even be in this mess.

Cori's silence told Prue everything. "God, no."

Piper put her hand comfortingly on her sister's shoulder. Prue turned around. Piper could see the fear in her eyes. It was strange to her. She had never seen Prue look that way before. Prue had always considered fear a weakness she could never show. "Prue, we're going to fix this. It's going to be okay." Piper wasn't sure if she believed the words, but she forced her voice to sound that way. Anyway, they had to fix it. She had seen and heard enough from her future family to know that if they didn't, everything they had fought for would be lost. Her sister would be lost.

Paige watched the exchange between Piper and Prue. She tried to read Prue's expression. Prue was scared, that was easy to see. Paige figured she would be too if she was resurrected by angel's then told she was future of all evil. But Paige couldn't understand one thing. Why had she and Phoebe sided with Prue? Prue was her sister, but Piper was...what? Piper had been there for her. Piper had gotten them through the last four years safely. Piper loved them. Piper protected them. Why had they turned their backs on her? It doesn't matter. I will always love you.

Cori glanced at Chris who nodded. "Let's go," he mouthed. He was anxious to get to his mother. Perhaps Prue had said she still loved them, but that was only after she'd nearly killed them all. But she didn't. That was the only thing holding Chris back. Prue hadn't killed them, and she'd had the perfect opportunity. She just wants Piper. That's the only thing that made sense to him. And Prue might already have her.

Phoebe was the only one of the sisters to notice the exchange between the future Halliwell children, and she knew what it meant. They were going after Future Piper. They were going to try to save her from Prue. Phoebe was still trying to process exactly what that meant. They shouldn't have to run from Prue. She had always been her protector. Even when she was young and reckless and had pushed her away, Prue had never left her side. She looked at the version of her sister in front of her and realized something that nearly knocked off her feet.

They shouldn't have to run from Prue, but Prue shouldn't be alive. Was that the reason she was evil now?

Phoebe remembered what Cori had said when she first saw her and Paige. They were dead in the future. She didn't know when or how. Had Prue turned her back on good because of their deaths? There were just too many possibilities and no one was giving them any answers. The only three people who could were about to run away again.

"We need answers," she finally said.

Cori, Chris, and Wyatt all stared at her. Wyatt glowered at her. Cori grimaced, but Chris just shook his head. She could swear she saw the words "future consequences" start to form on his lips. She wondered if he remembered the last time he'd been here in the past. By the look he looked at her, like she was still family, he guessed he did.

"Once we get Mom back, then we'll answer all your questions." Chris said before the other two could answer. He knew he had the best relationship with Phoebe even if it was in another time.

"Is anyone going to come down here and tell us what the hell's going on? I didn't come back from the afterlife to just sit on my ass!" Grams yelled from the base of the stairs.

Prue was shocked. "Grams is here?"

"And Mom," Phoebe said. "Oh, and they don't know you are. I mean, not this you." She cast her eyes on the ground remembering the Future Prue that had come back from the future with the others. Grams and their mother had both been here.

Prue swallowed hard. "Mom?"

Piper smiled weakly. "Yeah. Leo brought them here to try and convince us not to trust-you know, it's a long story that we don't have time for. You three," she pointed to the future Halliwell children. All three of them straightened at her voice. She liked the way they listened to her. She would have to ask her future self how she got them to mind her so nicely. "Go find...me. And be careful. Come back here as soon as-"

There was a crash downstairs. The future children each transported themselves down there immediately. It might be Piper, and she could be hurt. Paige grabbed Phoebe and Piper's hands. Piper quickly reached out and taught a hold of Prue just as they all materialized into blue and white orbs.

Little Wyatt ran to his mommy. Future Piper picked up the toddler and hugged him close. He squealed and pointed to Penny and Patty. "It's Grams and Grandma. Like pictures." Then he frowned. "They can't stay."

Future Piper smiled at her past son. "I know, Sweetie."

Cori blazed into the dining room. The rest of the family appeared from orbs. They all sighed in relief at the sight of Future Piper. Little Wyatt stared at Piper then back to Future Piper. "Two mommies..." he muttered shaking his head.

"I think we need to take him and Chris to Dads," Future Piper said. "This is too dangerous for them to be here." She remembered how dangerous the Manor is in the future. Children were never allowed somewhere so magical. The Seeker's Pets hardly ever found them anymore, but a magical child wouldn't stand a chance against them.

"I'll take them." Future Chris volunteered. He was more than relieved to see his mother safe, but it had been years since he'd seen his deceased grandfather. His grandfather was one consistency in both times. He had always been there for him the way his own father couldn't. Chris missed him more than Leo actually.

"Chris!" Little Wyatt yelled excitedly. He orbed himself from Future Piper's arms to his. "You back!"

Chris grinned down at the younger version of his brother. "Yup! You want to go to Grandpa's with me and...bubby?"

Wyatt grinned. "Play games!"

"Candy Land!" Chris smiled remembering that was Wyatt's favorite game growing up. Wyatt nodded. Everyone waited to say anything until after Chris had gathered Little Chris and Wyatt and orbed away. Cori, who had slipped under Future Piper's arms after Wyatt orbed away from her, looked up at her aunt.

"Talk." she said.

Prue noticed the way Cori seemed to revolve around her future sister instantly. A pang of jealousy touched her heart. Cori had barely let her touch her since they arrived at the Manor. Now, she was clinging to Future Piper. She had to remind herself that in her daughter's world she was evil. It was obvious to Prue that Piper wasn't just by the way she looked at her. Which meant they were enemies. Future Piper kept looking at Prue out of the corner of her eye like she expected her to try and attack. Prue reached behind her to take her Piper's hand, just to reassure herself that she hadn't messed up yet. She could still fix this.

Then she thought about what was waiting for her down in the Underworld. Right now, she was the Queen of the Underworld. But that didn't make her evil. She had taken over the Underworld so no one would hurt her or her sisters this time around. She didn't want the power. She just wanted her family safe. She wasn't evil.

Patty, who was sitting on the arm of the love seat rubbing a warm cloth over the still unconscious Leo, stood up when her family orbed downstairs. Both her and her mother had stood shocked when Prue materialized out of the orbs. Not the demonized Prue of the future, but their Prue. Patty was the first to react. She walked over to stand in front of her daughter. Prue smiled at her. "Hey, Mom. I-" what did she say? 'I'm back from the dead, and so are you! Hooray!' Somehow that didn't seem right. Her mom was studying her. She was looking for something , but Prue had no idea what.

"Prue," Patty whispered. She couldn't stand it any longer. She wrapped her arms around Prue and clung to her. She banished the vision of the future version of her daughter. That wasn't going to happen. They were going to fix this.

Future Piper stiffened. Cori hugged her tighter. Her aunt looked down at her. Cori could see something was different. It was obvious Piper had been in a fight. Her clothes were dirty, and sweat splotched her face. But if it was against Prue, she wouldn't be in this good of shape. Unless... Cori didn't press it. She would wait for her aunt to tell like she knew she would.

Penny walked to her granddaughters' side. The six of them looked at each other. It was the first time they had all been together. Even with everything that had happened, this little blessing warmed each of their heart. They didn't forget about the evil that was out there or the future that they needed to fix, but right it didn't matter. They were all here together. Together they would find a way to make things right. Permanently this time.

Wyatt stood apart from the two groups but closer to Cori and his mother. He wasn't able to separate this Prue, Phoebe, and Paige from the ones in his future. Wyatt had never been the objective one. That was Chris. He knew what choices they would make, and he resented them for it. He didn't hate them yet, but he didn't trust them either. "Mom, tell us what happened." He finally said to get his mind off his past family.

Everyone turned to look at her. The five Halliwells from the present each had some part of their body touching Prue. She reveled in the warmth it created.

Future Piper wanted to tell them, tell Cori, everything that had happened, but words couldn't really describe it. Even now she didn't know if it had been real. The angel, Prue, hope...it all felt like a dream. "I saw Prue."

The rest of the family stiffened. Paige, Wyatt, and Cori all glanced at the Prue in front of them. Wyatt didn't trust her. Cori and Paige wanted to see how she would react to the news. She didn't bow under their gazes. She knew they would all be watching her. Future Piper was staring at her now, testing her. This new sense of hope was confusing. She still wasn't ready to fully trust her sister, past, present, or future. "But something happened before that. I think...I think there was an angel. I can't remember what she looked like but I remember feeling...peaceful." Piper sighed as the feeling touched her again.

"An angel of Destiny?" Patty interrupted.

"Maybe. She told me...she told me 'hope lives.'"

"That's kind of cryptic. Encouraging, but she couldn't have given you better advice than that?" Paige hated the Elders obvious enjoyment when they confused the hell out of them. They loved to give cryptic messages like they couldn't just come out and say things. It annoyed the hell of her.

Future Piper grinned at her little sister. Paige's attitude was one of those things she missed most about her sister. "I guess not. She just disappeared after that. I was going to come back when Prue found me. I called for her before the angel. Her mind-" Future Piper didn't know how to describe that either. It was the exact opposite of peace. It was terror and pain and fear. If that was really what Prue lived with every day, she almost felt sorry for her sister.

Cori understood. She still heard the screams and felt the terror of her victims she had killed when she was little. It was part of being a creature of light and darkness. She had learned to push the voices and fear to the back of her head. She couldn't ignore them, but she could move around them.

Future Piper continued. "I almost killed her, but I think she was holding back. I don't think she wanted to kill me." she rubbed the spot on her chest where her sister almost had killed her. "I let her go though. The angel said hope was alive." Now she met the Prue from this time's eyes. "If there really is hope, then she...you...have to still be in there somewhere."

Prue didn't wither under her future sister's stare. She let the words slowly sink in. She hadn't processed all the news her family was throwing at her. She still couldn't believe she was evil. That apparently her and Piper were enemies, but the evidence was there. She wasn't going to fight the obvious. They had a problem, and she was going to fix it. "I know..." but what did she know? What was it she wanted to say to Piper, to her daughter? "I know I've messed up-"

Wyatt scoffed.

"but I want to help. I don't want-" she looked over their bodies, at their scars, at their haunted eyes, "I don't want this."

Future Piper's mouthed twitched. "Would you be willing to die to prevent it? Because that's what has to happen. You can't stay here."

The outcry was immediate. The three Halliwell sisters all stepped in front of Prue. She started to protest, but Piper's voice drowned her out. "You do you think you are to barge into our lives and try to take her away from us?" She was very aware the question was a weird one to ask herself, but that's how she felt. She understood the future was hell, but there had to be another way. She couldn't lose Prue again.

A vision of the future version of her sister flashed before her eyes. Would she still want Prue alive like that though?

Future Piper glared at the past version of herself. "That thinking is the exact reason we lost everything. How do you think you have before the evil starts to take her over? A year? Two? Why don't you ask her who's ruling the Underworld right now? Ask her about the all the demonic powers she's developing. We've already lost our sister."

The sisters turned back around to look at her. Prue glared at Future Piper. She hated her for revealing her secrets like that, but she hated her more because everything she said was true. Ever since she'd come back, Prue had started to get powers she didn't even know existed. They were all demonic. They were all evil. But she used them for good. To kill demons. Not innocents.

"Is that true?" Phoebe asked, but she could tell by Prue's glare at Future Piper that it was.

"Yes," she said looking at Phoebe, "but it's not like that. I don't hurt people with my powers. I kill demons. I'm good." She challenged Future Piper with a look to prover her wrong.

"You will, Prue. You will hurt thousands, millions. You will hurt your own family." Future Piper traced the ridges created by the scar over her heart caused by her sister. She felt Cori shift under her arm.

"You're lying." Prue gritted. "I would never do that."

"It doesn't matter what you believe because they know the truth. What they do with it, will decide all our fates." Future Piper looked at her past self. If anyone needed to understand that it was her. Piper had been the leader against Leo and the Elders when they tried to take Prue away again. She had defended her sister. They had nearly started a war with the Elders. She had given Prue everything, and she threw it in her face. If only she could make her past self realize that no matter how much she loved Prue and would miss her when she's gone, it will be nothing compared to the hurt she will feel if Prue stayed.

Piper was so confused. This was Prue they were talking about. Prue. Her sister. She wasn't evil yet. Her future family hadn't even told them why she had become evil in the first place. Maybe they could fix that like they did with Wyatt. Change one event and the future is completely changed. But Piper knew deep down this was different.

But they were asking her to give up something, someone, who had literally meant the world to her. The first time she had lost Prue, Piper had thought she would never be able to function again. Prue was the rock, the foundation, upon which they had all built their lives around. Even with all this in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to give that up again. "We can find another way."

* * *

><p>Future Prue glimmered into the attic. No one was there. She smiled at the Book of Shadows. She was aware the Book wouldn't let her within five feet of it, but Prue had a way around that.<p>

"Ahun Rreyn

Xi Screy Yun

Ti Meik Xsroth"

She whispered the incantation she had stumbled upon years ago in the Underworld. It would bind the Book's power of repelling evil. Not permanently and only for the one who recited the spell. The Book glowed back then returned to normal. She smiled and walked over to its stand. She ran her fingers over the cover. It opened, and it's pages flipped until it landed on the time travel spell.

"Not that I didn't love the visit," she muttered, "but I have business elsewhere."

She walked over to the wall and began to draw a triquetra on the wall. She heard her family, no, she heard the people who used to be her family, talking downstairs. She thought about her last visit with Piper as she drew. Piper had said something confusing. 'If hope is alive then so are you.' She knew her enemies thought she wasn't herself anymore, that some kind of evil had possessed her. But this was her. This was who she, not really wanted to be, but who she needed to be. If they would have just listened to her in the beginning, none of these terrible things would have happened.

Prue stood back and looked at the triquetra: the symbol of her and her sisters and the power that connected them.

"Not anymore," she whispered. The people's voice downstairs trailed up the stairs again. She heard them talking and couldn't ignore the wanting to go see them. To embrace them. She huffed and went to the Book. She had to double-take at the page. It wasn't on the time travel spell anymore.

"To Call A Lost Witch..." Prue read. She growled. "Stupid Book. I don't need that! I need to get back to my time." There was something there. She knew it, but she didn't want to think about why the Book changed pages. It was probably just mad that she'd been able to get around its defenses. She tried to turn the page, but they were stuck together. She attempted to move them telekinetically but they didn't budge. "What the hell?" she grimaced. "I'm starting to get mad. Go back to the time travel spell or so help me I'll burn to ashes."

The Book didn't move. The page stayed put. "Dammit." she muttered.

Prue didn't notice the tall black haired, silver-eyed woman dressed in a white, gold-trimmed robe until she spoke. "Prudence Halliwell, you cannot go back."


	13. If We Fail Part 1

**Okay, sorry about the long wait. It's basketball season, so my life is kind of hectic right now. And if the length of chapters is really sporatic, I apologize for that too. I'm doing this on my Ipad and I have no idea of knowing how long each chapter is. So I just keep writing until I feel like I've hit a good place to stop. I hope you like this chapter. We're getting close to the end! DUN DUN DUN. **

* * *

><p><strong>If We Fail<strong>

"What the hell do you mean 'I can't go back'? And who the hell are you anyway?" Future Prue hissed. She wasn't used to being snuck up on, and she could already tell she wasn't going to like this woman.

The angel smiled gently at her. She was peace and understanding. She had been placed over Prue in the beginning, when the Angels of Destiny first made their decision to bring the deceased Halliwell back from the dead. Until now, it had been impossible for her to correct the errors made without intervening with the Design. Now was her chance to right the wrongs done in the Beginning.

"Prudence, you were never meant to be this way. There was a...miscalculation, but all will be righted in the end. It is the Way."

Prue glowered at her. "I don't know what you're talking about. Why can't I get to the damned time travel spell?"

"Because we won't let you." She answered.

Prue took a step towards the woman. She didn't like her cocky attitude. Who did she think she was? Prue, not her, was the most powerful being alive. She ruled the world. No one even came close to her power except her own daughter who was too weak to do anything about it. No one kept her from doing anything. "Who. The. Hell. Is. We."

"We were here before the Beginning, placed here by the Creator to control the Design. We give you free will. We brought you back to life."

Prue cocked her head to the side. "You brought me back from the dead?" It was the one mystery she had never solved. Her and her sisters had searched for years trying to find anything that would have the power to do that with no results. "Who are you?"

"I am an Angel of Destiny. More importantly, I am your Angel. I am here to right the wrongs."

"Yeah, you said that before. Look, I don't need a guardian angel. I'm doing just fine. What I need is to get back to my time." Prue didn't want to deal with this. Her enemies were right below her. If they knew she was here, she would have to fight them. She didn't want anymore blood on her hands. Not after Phoebe and Paige.

"Prue, you weren't brought back to be this. We thought you had the strength, the love, to fight the evil. We aided you, gave you a daughter to love and cherish who would guide you on the path of light. But you didn't follow the Path. You strayed."

Cori, Prue thought. Her heart leapt at the mention of her daughter. Her Corinthian. Her daughter had been a gift. Prue had loved her, still loved her, more than she thought she could ever love someone. But love hadn't been enough. Cori had betrayed her. She had chosen Piper over her. Prue had done what was necessary to prove to everyone, Cori and Piper included, that she would not be mocked. Prue had tried countless times to cut herself away from her daughter, but she never succeeded. Her love was a weakness, not a strength.

"I did what was necessary to keep my family safe. They messed it up. If they had just listened-" how many times was she going to have to say it? Her family had betrayed her: Piper first, then Cori, Phoebe, and Paige. If they just hadn't been so damned stubborn everything would be okay.

"Today, things will be righted. Free will will still be honored. You will get to choose, this life or the one Designed."

Prue was starting to get angry. "What are talking about?"

The Angel smiled again. Prue grimaced at her. No one had a right to be that happy. It was disconcerting. "Choose wisely. The effects of your decisions will ripple far beyond your family, far beyond this world." Up until that point, the woman's voice had been gentle, understanding. It was the way of the Angels, but now she was stern. Their Design must not be broken. Prue was being given a third chance. After this, the Angels wouldn't be able to intervene anymore. The Balance had to be maintained. Good must prevail.

Prue started to snap at the 'Angel' again, but before she could the woman had disappeared. "Good riddance," she muttered. She turned back to the Book. "Now, let me see that damned spell." She swore she saw the Book shudder as if some great weight had been placed on it. The cover slammed shut with a resounding boom. Prue cursed. There was no way they didn't hear that downstairs. She grumbled obscenities at the woman who had kept her from getting away from here. She shimmered away just as orbs started to rise up from the floor.

Future Wyatt scanned the empty attic. His eyes were instantly drawn to the triquetra on the wall. He stroked his fingers across the Book of Shadows to be sure it was safe, scanned the room one more time, then orbed back downstairs. "Have you guys used the time traveling spell lately? There's a triquetra drawn on the wall." He said when he was in front of his family again.

"No," Piper said confused. "We haven't used the time travel spell since Chris..." she dropped off, so she didn't have to explain exactly why they had used the spell. It was still painful for her to talk about.

"It was Prue, the Future Prue. She probably tried to get back to our time." Future Piper mused. Her heart starting racing at the thought that her sister had been so close, and they had no idea. She was glad she had sent Little Wyatt and Little Chris to her father's. She wasn't going to give Prue the opportunity to hurt her children again in any time.

"She...I...was here?" Prue was still trying to comprehend exactly what was going on. Her head was pounding, and she felt exhausted. This was too much for one day, for one lifetime. But she would stay active and strong for as long as her family needed her to.

"Do you think she made it, you know, back to the future?" Paige asked. "And if she did, is that a bad thing? At least that's one less Future running around, right?" She had only caught a glimpse of her future sister, but that had been enough. She had recognized immediately the evil inside her. For some reason, it had reminded her of Cole.

Wyatt shook his head. "The Book was closed, and she has no way of getting to the spell. She must have tried to get to the Book or something and that's what we heard. But...it was on the stand. I don't know, but she definitely didn't get the spell off."

"And, no, I want her here." Future Piper inserted. The rest of her family, including Cori, cast her an inquisitive look. She shook her head. She really didn't know why, but she knew Prue needed to stay here. This problem wouldn't just be solved by the Present Prue. If they were going to really find a way to save the future then Future Prue was going to have to be here to. She knew it.

"What the hell..." Leo had been listening to his family talk for some time, but his mind was still too fuzzy to fully understand what they were saying. He fluttered his eyes open and attempted to sit up. Almost instantly he realized the mistake and fell back on the couch. Wow. He had really taken a hit.

"Leo," Piper breathed. She left her sisters and went over to the love seat. She bent down beside him. She watched as he tried to open his eyes again. "Leo, honey, I'm here. You're okay. You were knocked unconscious for a little while."

"Chris...Wyatt...Prue..." Leo whispered. His head was spinning, and he felt like he could throw up at any second. Was it possible for Elders to get concussions? Apparently they could if the future of all evil flung them against the Golden Gate Bridge.

At the mention of her name, Prue took a half step back. She remembered the last time she met with Leo. She had threw if off the bridge because he told her she would be evil, that she would have to go back to death. She already had a lot of apologizing to do.

"Leo will be okay." Penny was going to attempt to get this place back under control. It was clear both Piper's and everyone else weren't seeing things clearly. She had never been very good at staying unbiased, but they needed to start getting answers. And now if they ever hoped to do anything about the future. "Right now, we need to get some things straightened out, so we can know where to go from here."

"Get 'em, Grams," Paige chuckled. She liked her Grandmother even though she had never known her when she was alive. She realized their attitudes and personalities were very much alike, and that only made her love her Grandmother more. It was proof to her, as if her wiccan powers weren't enough, that she really was a part of this family.

"I raised three teenaged girls, Darling," Penny grinned. "And that one," she pointed at Phoebe, "was no walk in the park."

Phoebe blushed under her Grams' knowing look. "Yeah, yeah, Phoebe was the bad child. She was a horrible teenager. How did she ever manage to make it to her twenties...ya-da ya-da...so future people, how about those answers?" Piper, Grams, and Prue, despite the growing feeling of dread in her stomach, all smiled when Phoebe squirmed. They all remembered exactly how bad of a child Phoebe had been.

Future Piper wasn't sure she was ready to reveal to her past family anything else about the future. They needed to act fast before Prue could do irreparable damage in this time, but she knew her family needed answers. It wasn't a matter if she should tell them, she knew she had to, it was a matter if they could handle what they had to hear. Cori gripped her hand. "They deserve to know."

Future Piper knew exactly who her niece meant by 'they'. Future Piper allowed herself to fully look at Phoebe and Paige for the first time. Her heart ached seeing them so beautiful, so young, so carefree, and so alive. She wasn't ready to tell them how soon they would lose all that. She didn't want to see hurt or pain in their eyes ever again. She wanted to protect them from all this, but she couldn't.

Piper had never been able to protect her sisters.

"Let's all sit down." Future Piper motioned at the table.

The Piper from the present was only half-listening to her family. She ran her fingers through the semi-conscious Leo's hair. He was starting to become more coherent, and she knew he would have a ton of questions. She saw her family start to migrate to the dining room table. Their questions were going to be answered. She didn't want to leave Leo, but she wanted desperately to know what exactly was going on.

Wyatt saw his mother watching them out of the corner of her eye. He grinned seeing his parent's together. Leo hadn't been much of a father in the future, but he had been one hell of an Elder until he was killed. He had done his duty to the greater good and had sacrificed his duties to his family. Wyatt walked to his past mother and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled. "Go," he said, "I already know the story. It's not a good one."

Piper huffed lightly at her future son's attempt at humor. "Maybe it'll have a good ending," she responding while standing up. Wyatt frowned.

"Maybe."

Piper joined her family in the dining room. Future Piper was sitting at the far end. Cori was sitting to her right. Prue sat next to her. Future Piper grimaced, but Cori touched her hand to reassure her. Phoebe was beside Prue. Paige beside her. Grams and her mom were seat across from Prue and Phoebe. That left the seat between her mom and her future self for Piper. She seated herself and met Future Piper's eyes. "Tell us everything," she said.

Future Piper sighed and closed her eyes. She reached again for Cori's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "We're from eighteen years in the future." she started with her eyes still closed. "Eighteen years..." Future Piper couldn't believe it had been that long. Sometimes she forgot about the passing of time. There were so many other things that required her attention. "Prue came back. We were so happy. We had our sister again." Paige, Phoebe, and Piper all glanced happily at Prue, but the eldest Charmed One didn't look away from Future Piper. "We were blinded by our happiness. Leo tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I just wanted to have my sister..." All of the present Halliwell's nodded. "We still ignored the signs that she was slipping. It was about a year and a half later before I let myself even think about the possibility of Prue actually turning evil. She just found out she was pregnant with Cori-"

"Who's the father?" Phoebe blurted before she could stop herself.

"Phoebe!" Grams and Piper said in unison.

Future Piper opened her eyes, and Phoebe looked down sheepishly in her lap. Future Piper pondered whether that was a secret they should share. It wasn't important, and, after all, it wasn't her secret. She glanced at Cori. The young girl shook her head. Future Piper nodded. "That doesn't matter." She closed her eyes again. The other Halliwells all saw the exhaustion on the woman's face. For the first time, they saw the age on Future Piper's face. She was in her late forties, but they could all see the hard lines etched into her features. She looked sad, even with her eyes closed.

"We were all so happy again. Corinthian was born. We couldn't have been happier, until her first birthday." Future Piper grimaced at the memory. Cori bowed her head. Only Prue saw the silent tear trickle down the girl's face before she deftly wiped it away.

Future Piper stopped. This wasn't her story to tell anymore. Cori understood her aunt's silence, along with everyone at the table. Cori took a deep breath. She didn't know if she was going to be able to do this. How much should she tell? Everything? Just enough for them to know that if they didn't fix the future, their family would suffer in the worst ways possible?

Cori decided she was going to tell the truth because that would be the only thing that could save her. "To understand what I have to tell you, you have to know something about my mother." She focused on Future Piper who encouraged her with a small squeeze of her hand. She didn't look away as she spoke. "When a witch is brought back from the dead, her soul becomes corrupted with evil. Witches would have too much power if they could just come back from the dead whenever they wanted without consequences. The longer they stay on earth, the more corrupted they become until...until the evil consumes them." She stopped to let them absorb the information.

Penny and Patty exchanged a knowing look. That was the reason the Elders had never allowed Prue back after her death. They all knew the sisters wouldn't be able to let her go again.

Piper tried with all her might to find some crack in her future self and Cori's story, but she couldn't. All the evidence around her supported them. Prue was evil. She might as well get used to it. The future was hell. Her family suffered. She suffered. Now they knew why, but Piper didn't think about the repercussions of what her future niece had told her.

Prue couldn't stay with them, and not become evil.

That had been the one hope she was clinging to, and now it had been taken from her.

Phoebe, who was sitting next to Prue, tried to mask her horror and disbelief. Why would the Elders do that? Why would they let Prue come back to them knowing she would turn evil? Then she remembered Leo lying on the couch. The Elders hadn't let it happen. They were obviously doing there best to prevent exactly what Future Piper was talking about. It had been her and her sisters that had let this happen. If they knew Prue was going to turn evil, why didn't they do something. Phoebe realized then, that if she hadn't seen Future Prue, Piper, and Cori, she never would have believed anything the Elders said.

Before today, she never would have believed her sister could ever be evil.

Paige had never thought about resurrection much. When she had lost her adoptive parents, she didn't even know magic was real. She had tried to change the past to save them, not bring them back from the dead. She saw Grams and her mother on occasion, but they were just ghosts. So Prue had crossed a magical line. Was there really only one option for them. Lose Prue or send the world to hell? Paige couldn't believe that. She had more faith in magic than that. There had to be another way.

Prue tried to control her breathing, but her heart was fluttering inside her chest. She batted down the fear. She had been a fighter all her life. She had fought when her mother died to become the person her sisters needed her to be. She had fought to become the best witch possible. She would fight this evil even if it meant she had to die. She wasn't going to be the reason the world suffered.

But I will lose them, she thought. I just got them back.

She reached instinctively for Phoebe's hand. Her little sister took it graciously.

Cori continued. "When I was born, the evil was already a part of her. I was born from a corrupted soul and a demon, but I was still part witch. I don't know what caused it, but..." this was the first big obstacle for Cori to tell. Her throat caught and she closed her eyes much the same way Future Piper had. She calmed herself and reminded herself how important this was. "From the moment I was born, I had an insatiable bloodlust."

"What do you mean bloodlust?" Pennie asked.

Cori swallowed hard. "I mean I needed to...kill." Cori crossed her arms on the table and laid her head against them. She could feel her body shaking. Kill wasn't a good word. Murder. Massacre. Destroy. Those were better words to describe what she had done, the monster she had been. The monster her mother wanted her to be.

The Halliwell's watched the teenaged girl crumbled before their eyes. No one knew what to do or what to say. Future Piper wasn't looking at Cori. She wasn't even trying to comfort her, something that the present Halliwells thought was strange. But Future Piper knew Cori wouldn't want comfort. It would only make her feel worse. Future Piper knew exactly what her niece had done, but that was all in the past. Her niece had made a choice to better herself, to fight her evil. It was what escalated Prue's descent into madness.

The Halliwells waited for Cori to start again. They respected her need to silence. When she did raise her head, they all had to look away. Her face looked haunted and terrorized. Her eyes were open wide, and her skin was drained of color. She seemed to be looking passed them all to somewhere a million miles away. "She told me I had to...or I would die. She said I had to. I didn't want to. I didn't. You have to believe me." She stared at Present Piper desperately. The witch didn't know what to say. It was clear Cori was suffering.

"It's okay...I know...I-" she stopped when Cori began talking again.

"She said she loved me, Piper. Why would she tell me that if she didn't mean it?" Cori felt the tears coming down her eyes. It was all too much. She couldn't do this. She wasn't strong enough to talk about the future. Wasn't it enough that she had to live it once? Did she have to relive in front of all of them?

"I don't know," Piper said. She looked at her future self for help.

Future Piper recognized the signs of her niece's breakdown. Cori wasn't going to be able to do this. It wasn't fair of her past family to demand these answers from the young girl. "Cori," Future Piper reached to touch the girl's arm.

Her aunt's touch seemed to somehow bring Cori out of her trance. "I...I'm sorry." she whispered.

Prue tried to hide her tears. It was obvious who the 'her' was that Cori was talking about.

I did this to her. I told her to kill. I lied to my daughter. She doesn't think I love her. Do I? Am I really as evil as they say? Prue wanted this all to go away. She wanted to escape, to run away from here. She wanted this all to be a dream.

No one said anything. Each of their mind's were racing with the answers Future Piper and Cori had already shared. Just in this one glimpse of the future they had been given, they were already stunned.

Paige's mind was plagued with the same question. Why had she sided with Prue when she was obviously evil? It was the one thing she wanted answered more than anything. She would never abandon Piper. She knew that, but apparently she had changed in the future. She glanced at Future Piper, the only one with her answer. "I know...I know this is hard." she finally said causing her future sister's eyes to fall on her. "But please...we need to know." Paige hoped her sister understood her hidden message.

Future Piper did understand. It was the one secret she wasn't prepared to share. Her sisters' betrayal and death. Her niece had already broken. Piper knew if she fell apart too she wouldn't be able to put herself back together again. Seeing the angel had renewed her sense of hope and lightened the load on her heart just enough to give her the strength to keep going, but she was on the verge of her own breakdown. Seeing her sisters, all of them, alive...it was more than her heart could take. She wondered how her son had done it all those months when he had come back the first time to change the future.

She sighed. "The only reason we're even doing this is to make you all," she looked pointedly at her past self quickly, "understand exactly what's at stake. You have the power to prevent this." She paused and gathered herself. "After Cori was born, Prue changed. She just became obsessed with protecting us from everything. She became...delusional. On Cori's first birthday, a rogue demon attempted to steal her for her powers. Of course he barely got his feet on the ground before we killed him, but that was Prue's last straw. She went crazy. We didn't know about the Underworld, about what she had been doing-"

Prue swallowed. She felt her family's eyes on her again. Of course she had tried to take over the Underworld. Wasn't that what they'd been trying to do since they became witches? Now she had the power to do it. It wasn't a bad thing. She wasn't evil. "By the time we realized our mistake, it was too late. Prue was smart," now Future Piper looked at Prue, and for the first time, Prue thought she saw a glimmer of love in her eyes. "She had always been the smart one, the one who's plan worked. She went for Magic School first-"

Paige gasped but kept quiet.

"They weren't prepared for a fight, not like that. It was a massacre...so many children..." Future Piper stopped. That day was burned into her mind and soul. It had changed her life forever.

"No." Piper said sternly standing up. "That's not right. That isn't true. It's not true..." but Piper could see the evidence on her future self's face. Everything in her heart told her this was all a dream. Yet everything in front of her was screaming at her that this was true, that she had to fix this before it could happen. Piper had forced herself to become the next-best-thing to Prue after her sister's death. She had devoted herself to keeping her family safe, and somehow, despite all that, she had failed.

Future Piper ignored her past self. "With all that knowledge, Prue knew every secret of the side of good. She knew the weaknesses of every Elder, all the hidden abilities of magical creatures, she had access to spells that had been kept secret for centuries...and she was still growing more powerful by the day. There was nothing we could do to stop her."

"So we joined her." Paige finished the sentence without really meaning to. She felt everyone's heads snap towards her except Cori who still had her face buried in her hands. Paige forced herself to keep eyes with Future Piper. She could see her older sister studying her, but she could also see the hurt behind her eyes.

"What did you say?" Phoebe asked shocked. "What do you mean we joined her?" She hadn't allowed herself to think about the fact that she was fighting Prue in the future because it hurt too much, but the thought of joining her had never even crossed her mind. Phoebe had once been the Queen of Darkness, and even been pregnant with the Source's offspring. She remembered what evil felt like, and she never wanted to feel that way again.

"Tell her." Paige said not breaking eye contact.

Future Piper clenched her jaw together. This wasn't the way she wanted to do this. Hell, she didn't want to do this at all. "We all fought her in the beginning, or rather, we ran from her. She was too powerful...and she was family. We were still so blind. We just kept trying to find a way to 'save' her." Future Piper shook her head. "But she just kept coming for us...we lost hope. All of us. Then...then, I don't remember who said it first, maybe we'd all just been thinking it for so long we accepted it without saying, but one day, we just fell apart. We knew we couldn't beat her. Our lives, our families, had been shattered. Phoebe wanted to try something else. She wanted to talk to her, to try and save her from the inside."

That caught Phoebe's attention. She forced herself to look at Future Piper even though she felt like was falling apart, piece by piece, with each of her future sister's words.

"We were just so tired...How much can one person take? I wasn't mad." Now Future Piper stared at Phoebe and Paige. She wanted them to understand, because she had never gotten the chance to tell her sisters that. She had felt too betrayed, too proud, to tell them she had never been angry at them. It had hurt too much to let herself dwell on her feelings towards all of her sisters. "I was never mad." She repeated. "Even after you both left, I tried so hard to be angry at you. I tried to hate you, but..." she grinned sadly, "we were sisters. We are sisters. And nothing could change that." Tears were starting to build around her eyes and blur her vision. Everything she had ever wanted to tell her sisters, but had never allowed herself to, was about to spill out of her. "I love you," she choked. "I always did. You have to know that. I never stopped loving you." Future Piper looked at Prue now, but the resurrected Halliwell knew her future sister wasn't seeing her. She was seeing the Prue of her time. "Any of you. I just wanted us to be together...I never meant for any of this to happen. It's my fault."

Everyone's eyes had been locked on Future Piper, but their eyes widened at her last words.

Future Piper had never admitted that out loud. It felt like a thousand pound weight had been lifted off her heart. She had secretly blamed herself for everything. Sure, her family knew that deep down she believed the destruction of their family and the world had been her fault, but she had never fully come out and said it.

Cori shook her head, but she didn't have the energy to comfort her aunt. She was tired of trying to build the rest of her family up while she broke down. She didn't want to feel like this anymore. She wanted to act. Now. She wanted this all to be over. She could swallow her hurt and pain long enough to fix everything. She would.

No one knew what to think, but they knew saying anything would be wrong. They each didn't believe Future Piper's words. It was clear as day that she had done everything in her power to fight evil, even when it had cost her literally everything. If anything, she was the only reason there was any hope of fixing the future, but they couldn't tell her that. They allowed the silence to set in without any resistance.

"Now you know the truth," Wyatt said. All their eyes fell on him. Leo was leaning slightly against the wall. His face was still pale, but that might be more from shock than injury. He had heard everything, and as much as he wanted to find any reason to doubt Future Piper and, of course, Cori, he couldn't. All the evidence supported them. He would be a fool to try and fight it. That didn't stop him from hating every word that came out of their mouths.

"What are you going to do about it?" The Twice-Blessed asked, making eye contact with each of his past family. They all looked back at him, determined, but terrified. He caught his past mother's stare. She frowned as if she was thinking hard about something.

"Now we know," Piper said, trying to sound as in control as she could. "You've said Prue is powerful...too powerful for any of us. Killing the future her won't stop the future from happening, and..." Piper looked at her elder sister. She could see the toll the future Halliwell's stories had had on her. She was pale, her eyes sunken, and a trail of tears was running slowly down her cheeks. It was disconcerting looking at Prue and knowing she didn't have the answers. Prue had always been the one in control. Now it seemed, even with her sister back, Piper was still going to have to be in charge. But she was prepared. She had grown to be a matriarch in her own right in the last four years. "the only way we're going to find anyway to make things right is to go to the people who brought Prue back in the first place."

"The Angels of Destiny." Patty smiled at her daughter. She had watched Piper struggle through high school and young adulthood. Becoming a witch had changed her daughter for the better. It had given her confidence, and something to fight for.

"Then let's get cracking." Paige said in a small attempt to lighten the mood. Her forced her feelings to the back of mind and tried instead to focus on the situation in front of her. "Book." Paige ordered, holding out her hands. A rectangle of floating blue orbs formed in Paige's hands and coalesced to make the Book of Shadows.

"There's not a spell that I know of that can summon an Angel," Pennie said. "And we all know I know that Book better than the back of my hand." The sisters nodded. Grams had been controlling the flipping of the Book since they'd become witches.

"Maybe we can alter the 'To Call A Lost Witch' spell." Phoebe volunteered. "It wouldn't take long, and we have the most powerful witches from the past, present, and future in this room."

"It's worth a shot." Piper nodded at her sister. Phoebe got up from the table and went to the cabinet to draw out a notebook and pencil. She sat back down and began to change the words to the familiar spell into one that would work for their purpose.

Cori stared at Future Piper trying to see how her past family's proposal was affecting her aunt. Future Piper's face was stoic. The emotions that had been so revealing moments ago were gone, lost behind Piper's impenetrable walls. Cori sighed and waited for Phoebe to finish the spell. She knew this was their last chance. If they messed this up, if they were wrong, they wouldn't have a choice. She wouldn't have a choice.

Cori eyed the past version of her mother, the one she loved. The one who had loved her. It was like the mother from her memories was standing right in front of her. How many times had she imagined her mother embracing her or whispering words of love into her ear? Too many to count. How many times had her mother betrayed her, tortured her, and destroyed the world around her? Even more. Cori realized then that, if they were wrong this time, she wouldn't have a choice. It would be her responsibility to kill her mother. Not the one from the future. That wouldn't do any good, but the one sitting next to her.

Cori didn't know her thoughts were mirroring Future Piper's.


	14. If We Fail Part 2

**Sorry the update took so long. It's basketball season, and my team's ranked in the top 5 in the state so we're training for a final four :) Real life just gets in the way! This chapter really sets up the next one (which is going to be kickin by the way!) I hope you enjoy! Please review!**

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><p>Future Prue went to the only place in the world she felt safe and in control: the Underworld. When she had been alive the first time, the Underworld had been a dangerous place where her and her sisters only went in extreme circumstances. However, the first thing she had done when she came back was to conquer it. With her new and growing powers, that had been all too possible.<p>

You have strayed. You were never meant to be this way.

The Angel's words ran through her head. Every time she thought she'd grasped their meaning, it slipped away. Then she would try to understand why they had brought her back, not that she was complaining.

You have strayed. You were never meant to be this way. We gave you a daughter.

"Corinthian," Prue whispered her name. It sent chills down her arm. Her love for her daughter was an actual presence in her body, but Cori had let things come between them. Her betrayal had rocked Prue more she would ever admit. It had shattered her heart, and unlike before when she had faced difficult circumstances, she hadn't been able to rebuild herself. One mistake, well, actually two, had pushed her daughter away completely. She had lost Cori. That simple thought shook her very core.

"Everything I did, I did for you!" Prue fell to her knees and hit her fists against the ground repeatedly until she felt a warm liquid sticking to her hand. She tried to catch her breath, but it was several seconds before she could think clearly again. Hate and love were so close together. They weren't extreme opposites, she'd come to realize. They were two sides of the same coin. With a flick of the hand, it was chance which end she would land on.

Right now, she hated her daughter. The feeling was awkward in places where it mixed with her love, but that didn't change the adrenaline pumping hatred coursing through her. Prue had been betrayed for the last time.

So Cori thought she could come back to the past to try and change the future? To stop her from rising to power? It was the final straw. Cori had crossed a line from which there was no return. If she wanted a war, then Prue could give her a war.

You have strayed. You were never meant to be this way. We gave you a daughter to love and cherish.

Prue growled at the Angel's words. The woman was wrong. Cori had never been a blessing. Always a burden. Prue should have seen if from the beginning, when she first started to disobey her. Well, the wrongs would be corrected this day. Her daughter, and Piper and her children, too, were going to see just how 'evil' Prue could be.

She erupted in flames leaving scorch marks where she had been sitting.

Her last thought before she disappeared, was, if Cori succeeded, her family could be whole again. But the thought was so feint, her burning hatred swallowed it before she let it set in.

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><p>"Ah-ha!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I think I've done it! I changed a few words in the Source vanquishing spell to call the Angels." She grinned proudly at the piece of paper in front of her.<p>

"Then let's say the damned thing and get this over with." Piper said. Her tone made everyone look at her. Piper didn't acknowledge them. This day was more than she could handle. She didn't want to feel these emotions anymore. She just wanted to succeed or fail. Whichever one happened. Piper had never been one to sit on her ass.

"You'll need more than just the Power of Three and a powerful spell to summon the Angels," Patty said.

"Well, we have nine of the most powerful witches that ever existed in this house right now. If that's not enough to summon the Angels, then I don't think there's much else we can do." Penny's words caused Phoebe to nod.

"That's a good idea Grams. If we all read the spell, it will compound its power. Hopefully it will be enough."

"It will be." Prue glared at her hands, not looking at any of her family. It had been the first time she'd talked since after their future family's story. They all noticed the crack in her voice. Future Piper tried to not feel sympathy, and she almost succeeded. Her mixed feelings towards her sister were starting to take their toll on her. She longed for the time when she at least knew who her sister was, even if it was her enemy.

"Of course it will," Patty smiled. She had the feeling that she was talking about more than the spell. They would get it right this time. They would save her daughter. They just had to.

"Here," Phoebe tore off three pieces of paper she had been scribbling on, "I rewrote the spell on these that way everyone can see the spell. The sheets of paper were passed around until everyone had one they could see. Somehow, Future Piper, Cori, and Prue were sharing the same one. Cori smiled weakly. She hadn't forgotten she might have to kill her mother and wipe herself from existence.

Prue nervously edged closer to her future daughter. She could feel Future Piper's withering glare on her, daring her to make one false move. The fact that Piper couldn't trust her in the future tore at Prue's heartstrings.

What had she done?

Cori took Future Piper's hand in hers. Her aunt didn't take her eyes off Prue. Of course she didn't. To Piper, Prue was the enemy. She was the evil dictator of the world, the one who caused it to go to hell. But Piper didn't know the truth. She didn't know how much of a role Cori had played in its destruction. She didn't know exactly what happened to Phoebe and Paige. She didn't know they were dead because she hadn't been strong enough to kill her mother.

Leo watched the Halliwell witches work. It was an amazing thing, their connection to one another. Their bonds, not their powers, is what separated them from the rest of the magical world. Yet, it was plain to see by Future Piper's distrust towards Prue, those bonds didn't exist in the future. It wasn't until Cori reached over and took her Piper's hand that Leo realized the bonds were still there. They had only changed. As long as they stayed intact, nothing could stop them.

Without any queue, the nine Halliwells, Penny, Patricia, Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Wyatt, Future Piper, and Corinthian, all began the incantation.

"Prudence, Penelope, Patricia, Melinda,

Agitha, Helen, Lauren, and Grace,

Halliwell witches stand strong beside us,

summon these Angels beyond time and space."

The Angel heard the cry, felt the strong pull of magic urging her to a different location. It wasn't strong enough to force her there, she could ignore it if she wanted, but she knew she mustn't. The Halliwells were calling her. The Design was being righted.

She appeared in front of them, just as she had appeared to Prue. Future Piper gasped quietly but didn't say anything. She stared at the angel who had appeared to her in the Underworld, the one who had told her there was hope, that Prue was alive.

"Halliwells," she started. Her voice was like the subtle ringing of tiny bells. "I'm afraid I can't give you the answers you seek."

Instantly voices started to protest, but with a wave of her hand, the angel commanded silence. "for you already know them. The answers are in each of your hearts, along with the solution. I can only tell you this, you are right, this is not the Way. The world can be saved. Your family can be saved, but the choice is yours. We brought your sister back from the dead, both as a way to balance out the world and to repay you for all your sacrifices-"

"Well, it worked splendidly." Future Piper glared at the Angel as if challenging her to correct her.

The Angel felt the hurt rolling of Future Piper. She knew of the future from which the woman came. "Piper, we owe you our world. If it had not been for you, irreparable damage would have been done to the Design."

The compliment caught Future Piper off guard. Cori grinned sideways at her aunt. Maybe now she would believe how much they all owed her. But Future Piper didn't let her guard down. She didn't care why the Angels had decided to bring Prue back. They could try to cover their asses all they wanted. The only thing that mattered was fixing the future, fixing her family. "And if we choose wrong again?"

The Angel, whose face had been completely composed, flinched at Piper's words. "Then nothing will change." Before anyone else could say anything, the Angel turned her head towards the sky. "I have to go. Your destinies are coming far faster than you think. Be prepared." Now her eyes fell on Cori. Her voice became stern. "You have been through so much, Little One, but I am afraid your journey is not over yet. Do not forgo love for hate. Do not lose faith in yourself." Again she turned her head upward and an instant later was gone.

"Well, that sucked." Paige said. "What did we learn from that exactly?" Paige had never been fond of mind games. There was no reason for them. Just come out and say what you had to say or shut up.

"We learned we can change it. Cori, come with me." Piper's assertive tone caught everyone, except her future self, off guard. She stood from her seat, keeping her eyes on Cori.

"Piper, what are you doing?" Phoebe asked. She could see in her sister's eyes she was planning something, but Phoebe had no way to know what.

Piper ignored her sister. "Now," she said turning away from them. Everyone turned to the young girl to see how she would react. Future Piper, however, staring at her past self, debating whether to allow this or not.

Cori stood from her spot, and when Future Piper didn't protest, she rounded the table to join Piper in the kitchen.

Piper gripped the edge of the counter. She questions that she needed answered that she didn't want asked in front of anyone else. She could have called her future self in here, but she knew she wouldn't be able to handle another 'you have to do this' speech. Even with her fingers clinched against the hard granite, she still felt Cori's blood on her hands. She still heard her rasping breaths begging her for help. She still saw the terror in her eyes when she saw Phoebe and Paige.

Cori waited for her aunt to start talking patiently. When Piper turned around to face her, she straightened.

Piper looked into Cori's eyes, Prue's eyes. She saw the hurt there, but there was strength too which only increased the resemblance to her sister. "Those lashes...did she...she do that to you?" Piper's voice shook in anger. She remembered the feeling of hatred at the monsters who would do that to a child. How was she supposed to know that monster was her own sister?

Cori nodded. "Yes." Should she explain? Only if Piper asked which she doubted she would. Those lashes were her 'punishment' for betraying her. Cori could have avoided them, if she hadn't been so stupid and fell into another of her mother's traps. Prue had cornered her and bound her with magic before she could escape. She knew Cori would never fight her. It was the third time her mother had caught her like that. Prue whipped her until she was barely alive then she would unbind her and leave her to live or die.

Piper felt the wave of disgust wash over her. It was her one memory of the future coming to the present. If that was the entire future, if there really was only pain and suffering, then she would do anything to stop it. She just had to know one thing first. "And Phoebe and Paige...they're dead."

Cori's heart stuttered. She bit her lip. Piper's eyes, though different from her Piper's, were staring at her, expecting an answer that she couldn't give without revealing her deepest secret. Cori knew this was the moment. The moment she could make Piper realize if they didn't change the future now, they would lose so much more than any of them could imagine. "Yes," she repeated again. She tried to force herself to talk, to explain exactly why they were dead, but her voice caught in her throat. She felt tears in her eyes. Her chest ached, but she gritted her teeth against the hurt. "Prue killed them...because they tried to help. They saved my life, and I could have saved them. I couldn't fight her though. I couldn't kill her. She's my mother...I couldn't...I'm so sorry, Piper..." Cori fell to her knees. "Please, forgive me."

Piper froze. Her whole world seemed to revolve around the girl on her floor and the words she had just spoken.

Prue killed them.

"No," she gasped falling to her knees in front of Cori. "No," she forced the girl to look at her. The truth was in her eyes, but Piper couldn't believe it. "No, she would never do that. Not to them. They're...they're..."

"Family?" Cori and Piper both turned around. Cori cried in agony when she saw Future Piper's tear stained face standing in the doorway. She knew. Cori had never wanted her Piper to know how far her sister had fallen, how little Cori was able to do. But now she did. And Future Piper would hate her. If she lost Piper after everything that had already been taken from her, Cori would do insane just like her mother.

Future Piper saw Cori's horrified expression. Without thinking, and for once, without wondering what would happen next, Future Piper crossed the small distance between her and her niece. She wrapped Cori in her arms. The emotions were too much, but Future Piper slid into a state of numbness that had kept her sane through her life. Prue had murdered Phoebe and Paige, she knew that now, but no amount of time would ever make that real. "I'ts not your fault. It's never been your fault." Future Piper whispered.

Cori was too terrified and ashamed that Piper knew her deepest secret to really feel her aunt next to her. She could hear it in Piper's voice. She would never trust her again, or love her. _She shouldn't. I let them die_, she groaned inside._ I let them die, so she could live. How much pain could I have avoided if I would have just killed her! I'm never going to make that mistake again. No more chances. She's going to die one way or another._

Cori caught herself pulling away from Piper. She knew where her mother was. One swift move and this would all be over. None of this would ever happen, and she would never be born to let Phoebe and Paige die. Prue wouldn't live long enough to kill them. Piper will hate her, but as long as she's safe nothing else mattered.

Cori pushed away from Piper, ignoring her aunt's weak protest. She had no way of knowing what Cori was planning. Cori didn't allow herself to think or feel. It was too easy to give back into her bloodlust. Almost instantly, a thousand different ways to kill her mother flooded her mind. And next were more ways to kill not only her, but everyone in her family. They were powerless compared to her. She could kill them all. But Prue was first. A metallic taste filled Cori's mouth. Her muscles twitched in anticipation, and her mind felt clear for the first time in years. Every part of her being was focused on the task at hand.

Don't lose faith in yourself.

That had been the angel's words. Cori had thought they meant if she kept fighting in inner evil, then they would finally be able to overcome her mother. Now she realized the angel had been saying the exact opposite. Only an evil greater than her mother would be able to stop her. Cori's destiny wasn't to fight evil, it was to finally end it.

They were all in the dining room, still sitting around the table. They all became quiet when Cori appeared in the doorway. One more step, she told herself, and I will finally end this.


	15. Of the Same Coin

**Okay, so this chapter was really fun to write. It was tricky because I was really unsure on how I was going to finish the story even to this point, but I've got it figured out now. (yay!) If you like, review! **

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><p>Paige could see it in Cori's eyes that this was different. She was reminded of her first encounter with the girl, how she had nearly lost control and attacked them. Something had snapped inside her again. Her eyes weren't on her or Phoebe anymore though. She was staring at Prue. "No," Paige said, standing from her seat. "Cori, no, not like this."<p>

Cori stopped at her aunt's words. "We tried, Paige. You tried, so many times, but she can't be saved. I can't be saved." Those last words emptied her. She felt their weight. It was the one hope she'd been clinging to even more than saving her mother. She had been wrong though. She couldn't fight it anymore than her mother could, but she was going to end this before it could start. Her admission of weakness, somehow, made her stronger. She felt the words tumble out of her leaving her bare and for the first time, free. "But I can make sure she never gets the chance to hurt you."

By now everyone was standing, forming a wall between Cori and Prue. Both Future Piper and Present Piper were behind her, waiting and watching. Future Piper tried to tell herself she was okay with this, that this was the way it was supposed to be.

_Prue killed them._

No matter how many times those words ran through her head, they would never be true to her. Even in her darkness, Piper had still fed off Prue's strength. She had still on some level always depended on her sister. She hated herself for it, but her bond with Prue had never broken.

_But she had killed them._

Present Piper couldn't force herself to move. Never had she been paralyzed like this. Nothing felt real in front of her. There was no way this could be happening. Her family wasn't like this. They didn't hurt each other. They didn't kill each other. Prue would never hurt them. Her mind couldn't process it. She watched everything unfold like an outsider. The people in front of her were covered in thin haze like this was a dream._ This is all a dream,_ she thought,_ it has to be_.

Prue was still sitting. She was staring at her daughter, tears in her eyes. Prue had prided herself in life on being the strongest, the protector, the one who her family could count on. If that was taken from her, then what was the point in living? It was clear as hell that she was the reason her family suffered. Her daughter's last words brought her back into the reality unfolding in front of her. "What do you mean hurt her?"

Cori threw her head back and laughed at her mother's ignorance. "You kill them. Phoebe and Paige. You kill them because they tried to save me." Cori saw the reaction on all her family's faces: outrage from Wyatt, disbelief from the sisters, grim realization from Penny, Patty, and Leo. But none of that mattered. They couldn't stop her. No one could. "But you're not going to get that chance. I won't make that mistake again."

No one knew the full extent of Cori's powers. She had done everything she could since joining Piper to suppress them. They scared her. She knew what ultimate power felt like. It was enticing, controlling, enslaving. Her mother had used her powers for her own gain. Countless innocent people had been slaughtered at her hand. Most had begged for mercy for themselves, but sometimes parents pleaded for children, husbands for wives, family for family. But she had killed them all the same. She had looked into their eyes and took away their world. She became a slave to the power until she was no longer making her choices, but the evil inside her started to become a living thing. Cori had been a monster, until Piper. Until her mother gave her the most heinous order yet: to kill Piper.

She had almost succeeded, but, at the last moment, Piper had looked at her, and in the reflection of her aunt's eyes, Cori hadn't seen herself. She had seen the drone she'd become. She realized her power had taken control of her, and that moved her to start to fight it. She wasn't a slave to anything, not even herself.

But now, Cori wasn't fighting that power anymore. She let it cascade through her like a tidal wave. She felt just as strong: unstoppable, unescapable. She was finality. She was salvation.

"This is how it has to be. This is how it should have been." Cori said.

"Cori, stop this!" Phoebe shouted not moving from her spot in front of Prue. "There's another way."

Cori ignored her. She knew her words were lies. This was the only way. She should have been strong enough to do this a long time ago, but now she would be able to make everything okay. She could stop this. She could make it all go away. She knew the moment her mother died, she would too. But that didn't matter. "For Piper..." she murmured under her breath.

Like a sweet memory, the power coursed through her, into her, surrounding and cradling her. She felt it pulsing and thriving like a muscle. She tested its limits, searching for the power she'd harnessed before. She found it perfectly intact ready for her command. She controlled it now.

Her hands shimmered. A layer of black light started to roll over her fingertips and palms. The darkness wasn't caused by an inability to reflect light, but the ability to absorb it. Everything that touched the darkness seemed to disappear into it. The light moved to her elbows, her shoulders, her chest, her neck, her legs, her face, until every part of her was consumed in it. Only her eyes, burning a brilliant white in defiance to the darkness, showed any sign of the girl who had been standing in front of them.

The room started to shift, objects started to spin. Electricity bristled threateningly in the air. "Paige, get her out of here!" Phoebe screamed.

"No." Cori ordered. "We die here." The voice wasn't hers. In it, each of the Halliwell's heard the terror of a thousand screaming children, the moaning of a tortured soul. Their deepest fears brought to life in a single sound. It paralyzed them not only in fear, but in awe. Their thoughts centered around the powerful being in front of them. They wanted to run away, yet they wanted to bow at her feet. Their minds begged them to hide from her presence, but they knew everything about them was already revealed to her. "Stand up." She ordered. She knew what was happening to her family. She had only had to use this power once before, and she had swore she never would again for this very reason. No one could fight her. They couldn't even blink without her command. Her power was total. It was a terribly wonderful feeling to hold someone else's life in her hands. A power she never wanted.

Prue, who was just as spell struck as the rest of her family, obeyed.

Cori felt the magic, the pull of evil, the thrill of power. A ball of white and black energy formed in her outstretched hand. It pulsated and snapped like electricity. One more moment...

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><p>No one noticed when Future Prue flamed in. She deftly hid behind the corner and watched as her daughter began to morph. She grimaced at the evidence of Cori's power. If anyone could challenge her, it was Cori. She cringed at her daughter's dark voice, but she didn't give into it's power. She already lived the misery the voice echoed. She heard the cries of agony of her own victims, listened to the outcry of her lost soul. She had delved into the depth of evil and returned unscathed. She had her own power, her own evil.<p>

Future Prue hissed quietly when her daughter's intentions became clear. She was going to try and kill her past self and erase everything she'd worked so hard to create. She summoned a ball of black and red energy as her arms became engulfed in a deep, blood red light that shifted around her body just as the darkness had covered Cori. Her eyes, instead of emitting light like her daughter, absorbed and trapped the light around it.

"This ends here," both Cori and Future Prue whispered at the same time.

Future Prue was faster. Her red and black energy struck Cori in the back before she could release her own weapon. The energy ball fizzled uselessly against her, but a resounding boom shook the foundation of the house as the two magics collided. The windows shattered and furniture overturned. The Halliwells who had been standing by helplessly entranced were flung in all directions as the concussion of the blast swept across them.

* * *

><p>Paige tried helplessly to pull herself from the girl's power, but she couldn't move. Some part of her was aware of the danger in front of her, but her mind was completely entranced in Cori. How could something have that much power? How could she have been standing next to someone so magnificent and not realize it? When the energy ball formed in her hand, Paige's instincts began to whisper danger. She tried to cling to that feeling and pull herself out of Cori's control. She knew if she couldn't get Prue out of here, she would die. But how could she escape Cori's power? She couldn't even move. Paige saw the black and red ball of energy as it hit Cori. She instantly felt the rebound of magic and could feel herself flying through the air. She hit something hard with her head and back.<p>

There were crashing noises. Someone screamed. Her head pounded and sharp pains were lancing from her right shoulder. The world was a blur of color and movement she couldn't understand. Disorientation set in, and Paige knew she wouldn't be able to do anything until it passed. Instinctively, she reached out with her left arm. She felt a warm liquid and kept reaching. Her hand landed on a soft object: someone's arm. She had no way of knowing whose it was, but the limb was unresponsive to her touch.

"Prue..." she whispered gathering the strength to try and focus her mind. A white hot light shot through her vision, searing her brain. She groaned against it but fought against the pain enough to search for the body of the person next to her. The motion jarred her shoulder. She bit back another scream as her eyes fell on Phoebe's face, pale and empty. Her chest, neck, and face were covered in blood. "Phoebe," at the sight of her sister, Paige's mind became clear. Her own pain disappeared until she had complete control of her body. "Phoebe," she cried again. She scooted herself closer to her sister and pulled Phoebe into her lap. "No," she moaned. "No, no, no." Paige bowed her head against Phoebe's. "Don't leave us, Phoebe, come on. Stay with us."

* * *

><p>Future Piper and Piper were thrown against the dining room wall. They were the closest to the blast. The heat emitted from the surge in energy blistered their skin. Mind-numbing pain criss crossed over their bodies. Future Piper writhed away from Cori. In her confusion, she couldn't find her past self though she knew she must still be alive otherwise she wouldn't be here. "Cori," she coughed.<p>

* * *

><p>Leo was the first to recover from the blast. He stumbled to his feet knowing his family would need him now more than ever. He saw Cori out of the corner of his eyes, but he refused to look at her and become trapped in her power again. Wyatt was the closest to him, but his son was already starting to regain consciousness and appeared okay. Leo scanned over the rest of his family when he found Paige and Phoebe lying in a pool of blood. His whitelighter instincts kicked in. He went to Paige's side without ever considering what could have caused such an explosion or what could be distracting Cori.<p>

* * *

><p>Piper was the only one to see Future Prue. She couldn't find her sister anywhere in the monster in front of her, but somehow she knew it had to be her. She knew this was it, the moment they'd all been expecting. Whatever happened between them would decide the future. The front of her own body was blistered and it hurt to breath much less move. She laid there helplessly as the battle began to play out in front of her.<p>

* * *

><p>Corinthian didn't have to guess who the attack had come from. She grinned at her mother, but the expression was lost in the black light that enveloped her face. This was the moment she'd wanted: when she would get to look into her mother's eyes and watch her life fade away.<p>

Future Prue stepped out into the open to face her daughter. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"You can't kill me," Cori smirked. She could feel her endless power supply churning just under her skin waiting to be used. She knew if she wanted she could blow this whole block off the face of the earth, but she only had one death on her mind.

Future Prue didn't doubt her daughter believed her words. Cori thought she was stronger than her, and she might be, but she would never defeat her. Prue would always have one advantage on her daughter. Her black-lighted eyes flicked to the body lying and watching just behind Cori. Cori's weakness would always be that she cared too much.

"Corinthian," Future Prue said her name in finality. That last word spoken between them. In it she conveyed every emotion that had ever passed between them: love, hate, trust, betrayal, happiness, and misery. Two sides of the same coin just like them. A wall of white, red, and black electricity started to form from the ground as each of them prepared for the battle. It formed a dome of dynamic criss-crossing energy over them. Where the sparks met, they snapped and crackled like tiny fireworks.

* * *

><p>Leo felt the power surge through the air and heard the shield begin to take form. Only part of him was aware of what was happening just feet away from him. "Phoebe," he murmured. Without hesitation, he placed his hands over her chest where the blood was most centralized. Streams of golden light stretched from his hands to her body. Paige was holding her by her neck and slowly rocking back and forth.<p>

"Phoebe, no, please, no." She kept repeating. Leo could see it in her eyes she was lost in grief. Her body was covered in blood whether it was hers or Phoebe's, Leo didn't know. But her face was pale and her eyes wide. As the light touched Phoebe, Leo felt his love for her begin to work. He felt the injury, like a blackspot on an electrical grid. He felt her dull heart, the tiny tremors of life. He knew she was barely clinging to life, but she was alive.

"Paige, she's alive." Leo said. "Where's Piper?"

Paige tightened her hold on Phoebe as Leo's healing began to take effect. The blood still covered her body making it hard to see exactly where her wound was, but she felt Phoebe's chest start to rise and fall unsteadily. It took her another second to realize Leo had asked her a question then more time to understand it. "I...don't..." she looked around trying to find her other sister. "I don't...know..." the interior of the house was in shambles. The wall separating the kitchen and dining room was completely destroyed. The other interior walls were heaped into piles of rubble making it impossible for Paige to make sense of anything.

"Dammit," Leo muttered rising to his feet and for the first time noticing the dome of electricity guarding his future family. "What the hell..." Leo's knowledge of magic was second-to-none, but he had never seen anything like this. Not from the sisters or the Source or any other magic. He remembered then the power that had shocked him when he first tried to heal Cori. He knew even then that she was powerful and that she was evil. But he could have never suspected this. He saw Cori, in her dark form, and another being covered in blood red light whose eyes seemed to capture everything around them and turn it into darkness. He knew the other form was Prue. He grimaced realizing there was no good way out of this situation. Whatever happened, the results would be disastrous. His only thought was to get his family out of harm's way.

He looked down at Paige who was still holding the unconscious Phoebe. "Paige, you need to get her out of here. I'll find Piper." He glanced back at the forcefield. "Now."

Paige's throat was constricted too much for her to talk. She could barely control her breathing. How many times had she held one of her sisters in her arms as they were on the brink of death? How many times had she herself almost been killed by magic? She hated magic, hated having to wake up every day wondering if she was going to lose someone she loved. Her family was worth more than anything to her, yet they continuously put themselves in danger for the 'greater good.' Paige glared at Leo. "No, Leo." She said, surprised at the control she had over her voice. "If we run, this will never end."

Leo frowned wanting to argue with her. It wasn't running. It was leaving to survive and fight another day. But he didn't have time to talk her into anything. Piper was still somewhere in the rubble, and at any moment this place would be blown sky high. If he could get to Piper, assuming she was still alive, then maybe she could talk some sense into Paige.

He didn't say anything back to her but started to search for Piper. He reached out with his heart hoping that he would still be able to sense her presence. He was relieved beyond expression when he felt her heart beating somewhere nearby.

* * *

><p>Wyatt Halliwell had given out his fair share of beatings, but he had also taken them. However, nothing had ever hit him like the concussion from his cousin and aunt's magic. He slammed against the wall, felt it crumble behind and on top of him. Instinctively, his forcefield melded over his body protecting him from the debris. "Chris..." he called out telepathically knowing his brother would hear him. "Come. It's Prue." Chris would understand the message. He would know that the battle they'd all been waiting for was happening.<p>

He heard his brother's mental response and began to throw the debris off of himself with his telekinesis. His head hurt like hell, but other than that he was fine. He saw his past father get up and run to Paige and Phoebe. Both were covered in blood. Phoebe was unconscious and most likely dead. Paige was holding her and crying which left wet, red streaks across her face. His eyes landed on the shield. Wyatt cursed under his breath. He had hoped he'd be able to help Cori when she fought Prue, but he knew there was no way he or anyone else would be able to get through that. "Get her," he silently encouraged his cousin.

* * *

><p>Prue was trapped in darkness. Her body screamed in pain all over. Her head pounded which made it impossible to think. Something hard was sticking into her leg. She attempted to shift her weight and cried out as white hot lances shot across her body into her mind. She sighed trying to gather herself. This time, she kept her midsection still and brought her arm down across her side. She groaned as her fingers came into contact with a long object protruding from her right thigh. "Dammit," she muttered. She prepared herself for what she had to do. "Just do it!" she yelled at herself. She inhaled deeply then erupted into flames.<p>

She fell onto the pile of rubble she'd just been trapped under and moaned as the pain split her consciousness. She was afraid she was going to black out and fought back the dark beginning to cover her vision. Nausea overtook her instead. She leaned over and vomited until her stomach was empty. When she was finally able to gain some control over her body, she looked around her. The inside of the Manor was destroyed. She could see her family was scattered across the debris, but what caught her attention was the shield of white, black, and red.

She could see her daughter through the streaks of electricity, but she also saw someone else. If her stomach hadn't already been depleted, Prue knew she would have thrown up more. She knew the face beneath the blood red light, understood the mind behind the abyssal eyes as herself.


	16. The Fear We Create

**Okay, I know it's been a while, but my excuse is going to be basketball. My team made it into the post season and even wound up 4th in the state :) Now that's over and I'm going to have loads of time on my hands. Now, I want to apologize for my last couple chapters. I know it wasn't my best work. I was distracted (the whole basketball thing again). Hopefully this will make up for it. Thanks for all the amazing reviews! Keep 'em coming!**

* * *

><p>Cori had heard it all her life. Family comes first. But it had taken her years to realize that was only a lie her mother used to exploit weakness. Cori understood now that her mother could never be saved. There was nothing left of her. There had been nothing left from the moment she'd returned to life. Perhaps Cori had clung to that hope solely because she wanted to believe that she herself could be saved as well.<p>

Cori allowed all the hurt, betrayal, and anger to control her. Too long she had fought, and it had made her weaker than her mother. But she was through trying to fight herself. This was her chance to make up for everything she had done and allowed her mother to do.

"When I kill you here, no one will be able to stop me from killing her then none of this will ever happen. You won't get to hurt anyone ever again." Cori prepared herself for battle, focusing in on the enemy in front of her.

Future Prue didn't say anything. There were no more words she could speak, whether of anger or love. This was the inevitable that they'd been running from for years.

* * *

><p>Present Prue's leg still screamed whenever she moved, but she managed to get herself to her feet and lean against the wall. Phoebe and Paige were a few feet to her left. Paige was holding Phoebe. They were both covered in blood. Prue groaned as she used what was left of the wall as a support as she made her way to her sisters. She knelt down next to Phoebe before Paige noticed her. "Prue..." she said sounding both scared and relieved. "Phoebe..." Paige looked back down at her sister. She gripped her tighter.<p>

Prue's heart skipped several beats as she took in all the blood. She ran her hand gingerly over Phoebe's forehead wiping away strands of hair that had matted together there. "Paige," Prue said trying her best to control her voice through the panic that was building inside her. "I have to help Cori. You need to find Piper then get both of them out of here. Paige," Prue saw the scared look in her littlest sister's eyes. It wasn't fair that their first real conversation had to be this way, but none of this was fair. "I need you to be strong. I'm counting on you to protect them. I know you can do it."

Paige met Prue's eyes. Prue smiled and sighed in relief as she saw Paige start to get control of herself again. "Okay. I will. I'll keep them safe, but Prue...I'm not losing you. I'm coming back for you. This has to end here."

Prue frowned. "Just worry about them and yourself." She glanced at the shield. "I can take care of myself."

Without waiting for a reply, Prue pulled Paige into an embrace. She felt herself sticking to her sister because of the blood. She kissed Paige's forehead then bent down to do the same to Phoebe. Her lips tasted metallic. "I love you both." She whispered and attempted to stand.

Her first try nearly sent her on top of her sisters, but she recovered and found the remains of the wall again. It was enough to support her until she was within reach of the shield. Prue eyed the criss-crossing energy. She knew a part of her had created this shield, so shouldn't she be able to cross it? For some reason though, the snapping of electricity kept her at bay. If she wasn't able to get through, she would be burnt to a crisp.

_Cori tried to kill you_, she muttered inwardly, _why would you try and help her? Even if you succeed, you both die anyway._

"She's my daughter," she answered. "I won't let it be like this."

* * *

><p>Leo found Piper lying semi-conscious among the rubble. There was a trail of blood trickling slowly from her ear. Blisters, some the size of his fist, covered her body. Her clothing was singed into nonexistence. Blood poured freely where her burns and penetrated her skin. The smell of burnt flesh clung to Leo's nose and threatened to make him vomit. She turned her head as he advanced and he bent down next to her. She smiled up at him. "Leo," she whispered attempting to raise her head to his face.<p>

He blinked back tears and put his hands over her chest, careful not to touch her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the healing began. Slowly, painstakingly, the blisters disappeared and the blood dried. Leo cried when the healing was complete. Scars, eerily similar to the ones Future Piper bore, marred his love's body. He drew her up to him and kissed her neck then brought their faces inches apart. "I thought..."

"Don't," she ran her hand against his cheek then turned to face the shield. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. "Prue...no..." she gasped seeing her sister studying the shield. "Leo, she can't go through that. You have to stop her!"

Leo clung to her one final second, assuring himself that for now she was safe. He hadn't forgotten how much danger they were still in. He jumped to his feet and waded his way through the rubble to Prue. "Prue!" he shouted when he was close enough. "Prue!" She turned to face him then moved back towards the shield. He saw her limp and grimace. Leo searched for her injury and found that her entire right leg was smothered in blood. A dark wound in her thigh poured her lifeblood out onto the floor. "Let me heal you. You'll bleed to death soon if I don't."

This time she met his eyes. "I have to help her. She's my daughter. I cant..." she tried to find the words to match her thoughts, but her mind was little more than a daze. She didn't even notice when Leo crossed the distance between them and placed his hands in the air over her leg. Only when the slicing feeling in her leg subsided did she look at him again. She moved her right leg experimentally in a circle. "Thanks," she murmured.

"Prue, we need to get everyone out of here before they destroy this whole place." Leo grabbed her arm trying to force her to look at him, but her eyes didn't leave the shield.

"I can't leave her..."

"Prue, she wants you dead. Do you think she will hesitate to kill you if you step inside that thing? The best thing we can do right now is get everyone out of here. Don't you want your sisters to be safe?" Leo knew Prue valued her sisters more than her own life, but more than her daughter?

"You can get them out. I need to..." once again her mind clouded over and she couldn't finish her sentence. She took a step towards the shield, towards her daughter.

Leo pulled her back as someone screamed behind him. Both Prue and Leo turned around at the voice: it was Piper. Leo took off in a sprint, stumbling over the wreckage in his dash for his wife. He found her in the opposite corner he'd left her leaning over a red body. "Oh my God," Prue gasped next to him. He hadn't heard her following him, but he was glad she was away from the shield and Cori.

Leo and Prue lowered themselves on either side of Piper. Prue covered her mouth and nose to stop herself from gagging. Leo lowered his head despite himself. Piper cried freely into her hands. Sobs wracked her body audibly. Future Piper laid under them. The skin of the front of her body had been completely burned away allowing blood, muscle, and organ free range. Her face was morphed grotesquely into something unhuman. Her eyelids were gone with the rest of her skin revealing the full shape of her eyes. One of them oozed from the heat still emitting from her body. Her lips and cheeks dealt no better than the rest of her body. Her teeth were all completely visible. Her jaw hung in an eternal agonized cry.

Piper couldn't catch her breath. She didn't love Future Piper. How could she? But seeing the woman, seeing herself, that way was like a nightmare she had never imagined. Only when an unhuman, almost untraceable moan gurgled from Future Piper's throat did she look up. "Oh my God, Leo, she's still alive!" Prue hissed in amazement. "Heal her!"

Leo stared at the mound of destroyed flesh under him. How could something like this be alive? It was a long moment before he could bring himself to move. He raised his hands over her body and watched in shock as a golden glow emitted from his hands and washed over Future Piper.

Future Piper was lost in a sea of pain that mercilessly flung her about in its waves. It relentlessly hounded her, more than once she had thought she was lost forever in its depth, but always some thought she could never cling to for more than a moment brought her back to the surface. She knew she was supposed to fight the darkness. It was all she had ever known, so she did. Whenever the pain's relentless attacks seemed too much, always that same thought lifted her up. She wished she could remember it, but the pain wouldn't allow her to. She felt something warm deep in the pit of the pain. It wasn't enough to erase it, or even dim it, but it was a new feeling, something else to concentrate on than the endless pain. Soon, the warmth grew and pulsed with life then it covered her, laid her to rest within its embrace and brought her completely out of the pain.

Future Piper sighed in ecstasy while her past self and family watched grim astonishment. "I can't believe it," Leo murmured. Her skin, though burned into ash began to reform right in front of him. Piece by piece, her body pulled itself together until no evidence was left of her injury.

Future Piper fluttered her eyes and jumped up in shock. "Cori!" she screamed as hands began to push her back to the ground. "No, Cori! She needs me!" Her mind was racing. Too many thoughts were passing in her head. Just when she thought she had a grip on one, it slipped away to be replaced by a hundred more.

"It's okay. Stop. You're going to hurt yourself." Piper coaxed her future self.

"Cori," Future Piper whined again finally allowing herself to fall into Piper's arms. She cried softly into her chest. Her mind, though her body was freed from the pain, was still crazed by its memory.

"What do we do?" Piper asked to anyone willing to answer.

Prue and Leo eyed each other over Piper's head. What did they do?

* * *

><p>Wyatt watched as Prue started to make her way to the shield. He regained his footing to confront her afraid she would do something to make Cori's situation worse, but Leo beat him to her. Wyatt heard his mother scream, or rather his past mother. He didn't know how he made the distinction, but he knew it wasn't really his mother who had yelled. As long as his past mother was alive, he believed his mother would be okay in the end. Bells jingled over his right shoulder. "Chris," he said turning around.<p>

Chris' eyes widened at the destruction around him. "What the hell happened?"

"Prue. Our Prue." He gestured at the shield dominating the room. "Any ideas on how to get through that?"

Chris had to lean against what remained of one of the walls. He attempted to focus on the black, white, and red electrical dome in front of him. "Cori?" He asked.

Wyatt pointed towards the shield. "Look, Chris."

Chris blinked, attempting to focus. Through the dynamic shell of energy, he could see two forms: one dominatingly black, the other blood red. He knew immediately who they were. "Oh, God..."

Cori had always hinted at her own power, and Chris had seen glimpses of it over the years. He knew she was powerful enough to challenge Prue, but he had never imagined this in his wildest dreams...or nightmares. "Where's Mom?" He finally managed to say.

"I haven't seen her since the blast. It happened so fast. Cori was going to kill the past version of Prue...she was so...terrifying...but then out of nowhere-"

Chris swiveled around. "Cori was going to do what?"

Wyatt frowned at his brother. "She snapped. Something's changed. I don't know what. Whatever it is, Cori's decided nothing in the future was worth saving."

The youngest Halliwell tried to comprehend his brother's words. Cori had never been fully able to seperate herself from her mother. He knew eventually she would have to make a choice, and it seems she finally had. He prayed it wasn't too late, but in the mean time they had to do something. "Maybe we can." Chris whispered.

Wyatt leaned into his brother to hear him over the crackling of electricity. "Can what, Chris?"

"Kill her. Surely she's not powerful enough in this time to challenge us..." Chris turned back around and began to search the rubble looking for his target. A hard hand fell on his shoulder.

"No." Wyatt gritted glaring at his brother. "Have you thought about what that would do?"

Chris could only think about one thing: fixing the future. That had always been his life, his purpose. It seemed he would never be able to escape it. Perhaps, when they fixed this future, another, more horrifying one would take its place, but he had to try. That's why his brother was even at his side because he hadn't been able to accept the evil around him. He had fought, and he had been given his brother back. Maybe this time, he would get the life he had only ever dreamed about. "We can do this." He said without looking back at Wyatt.

Wyatt knew his brother had a single-minded determination characteristic of the Halliwells. He knew Chris was only seeing one thing: an oppurtunity to save the future. But he wasn't seeing what it would cost them. He wasn't seeing Cori's death. "No, Chris. Corinthian..."

Something in his brother's tone caused Chris to flinch. He clenched his fists as understanding weighed upon his shoulders. "It's what she would want. You said it yourself, she tried to kill Prue. She knows...this is what she wants..."

"It's not our call," Wyatt said.

"She already made the call. We're just going to finish it for her." Chris met his brother's clear blue eyes, eyes inherited from their late father. He could see Wyatt struggling with the decision. Chris was a child of war. He didn't let himself think about the consequences, only the rewards. He knew this was how it had to be, how it was supposed to be. He just needed to make his brother see that as well. "Wyatt, I need you."

Wyatt grimaced at his brother's words.

"This is our chance. I can't...I won't go back there. Think about what we've lost...everything that's been taken from us because of her," he emphasized the last word with a hiss. "How many people will be saved if we do this? You know this is what Cori wants."

Wyatt stared at his brother. Dark circles, an ever present feature, made Chris seem years older than he actually was. His emerald eyes pleaded with Wyatt, and the Twice Blessed felt his resolve fading. Wyatt thought about his brother's words, very aware that they were running out of time. He remembered the countless times he had walked through the Manor at night hearing Cori sobbing or screaming whether from guilt, pain, or just memories he had never asked. One memory pushed him over the edge.

Cori had just joined them. Chris and Wyatt still didn't trust her, with good reason. Wyatt had heard someone crying, and, thinking it was his mom, he had went to investigate. He had found Cori balled up in the corner of the attic. Her arms were wrapped pathetically around her knees, and she was rocking slowly back and forth. Her eyes seemed a thousand miles away. Her face was contorted in anguish Wyatt had never witnessed. She didn't seem to notice him, and he almost didn't feel his mother at his side.

"She's remembering." Piper had said.

"Remembering what?" Wyatt whispered in confused awe.

"What she did...who she was...she's fighting a battle none of us can imagine. Try and comprehend having the greatest power ever known inside you, being told your whole life you were evil, being raised to massacre and conquer everything, then trying to fight it all." His mom had bowed her head and walked away.

But Wyatt had sat at the top of the stairs listening to Cori whimper and moan until finally he didn't hear anything. He stepped back into the attic to tell her that he understood now, but the words never left his mouth. Cori had fallen asleep though her face was still pulled together in grief. Wyatt sighed and went over to his cousin. He wrapped her in great arms and laid her down on the couch in the attic.

It was in that moment, watching her live a nightmare, that Wyatt knew he would do whatever it took to end her pain. He would do anything to save the future.

But could he kill Prue knowing it would kill Cori as well? Chris seemed all too ready, as if he had known this was the only way the whole time. "How long have you known?" Wyatt asked.

Chris knew what his brother was asking. "Since we came back. There was only one way for this to end."

Wyatt clenched his teeth. "Will we remember?"

Chris frowned. "I hope not." He turned away from Wyatt. "Is she still here?"

Wyatt didn't need his brother to specify. "Yeah, she was looking at the shield like she was going to try and get through it then Da-Leo said something. The other Piper screamed and they ran behind that pile of rubble over there." Wyatt gestured where he meant. Why did this feel like they were betraying Cori?

Chris started in that direction, ignoring the shield on his left. He hoped Wyatt was behind him, but he didn't check. _I can do this_, he repeated to himself over and over._ I can fix this like it never happened. None of this..._

Wyatt walked behind his brother with his head slightly bowed. When they crossed the shield Wyatt glanced through it until his eyes landed on the black figure inside. "I'm sorry. Please, try to understand."

* * *

><p>Time passed uselessly between mother and daughter. Neither was in a hurry. They had all the time in the world. Cori stared at her mother through her glowing eyes. Her powers had sharpened her senses. She could see every facet of light surrounding them, hear her mother's breathing, smell sulfur, taste blood. The power coursing through her made her feel invincible.<p>

Future Prue was biding her time. Her senses were also heightened. She had seen Leo heal her sister. She knew it was only a matter of time before Piper figured out what was going on and attempted to come to Cori's aid. It was then that Prue would make her move. When Cori would be distracted by trying to keep Piper safe. Cori's love for Piper would be her downfall, just as it was almost Prue's.

With one final breath, Cori conjured a ball of black and white energy in each of her hands. "Finally," she exhaled causing a stream of black mist to escape her mouth. The fog rolled across the floor lapping at Prue's feet. Wherever the fog came in contact with the shield though, it moved backwards on itself, staying clear of the electricity.

Prue watched the fog and her daughter cautiously. She wasn't afraid of Cori's energy balls; they could do nothing against the blood red armor protecting her, but she had never seen the fog before. It lapped across her feet and licked at her knees, but that was the extent of it. She chuckled. "You always were theatrical."

_Let her think that_, Cori grinned. She launched her energy balls. Both hit Prue square in the chest, but she didn't falter. They sizzled uselessly against her. Sparks of magical electricity cascaded into the black fog.

"Is that all you've got?" Prue challenged. One part of her mind was completely focused on the battle in front of her, but another was watching as her sister attempted to get to her feet. Prue saw through their shield that Piper was arguing with her past self._ Any second now_, she thought, _and I will have them both._

Future Prue held out her right hand. A sword made of deepest blacks appeared in her hand. The hilt was adorned with shining, blood red jewels that seemed to screech as Prue experimentally swung the blade through the air.

Cori stared at the blade and attempted to stop her ears as her mother raised it in the air. She nearly fell to the ground as thousands of voices began to scream in her ears. They were louder than they had ever been before. It felt like they were standing in front of her. In fact, when Cori opened her eyes, they were. Thousands of men, women, children all beaten and torn to the point they could barely be recognized as humans stood before her. Their mouths were opened in a constant wail. "No," she groaned finally succumbing to the power of their voices. One of her knees hit the ground. "No, I'm not. I'm not her. I..." but her words were lost amidst their anguished song.

Prue watched her daughter crumble. She knew how to exploit Cori because she knew the weaknesses of the side of good. The guilt of never being strong enough. The fear that one day they would fail. The knowledge that in the end they can never escape their own evil. Perhaps she wouldn't need Piper after all.

Everyone outside the shield stopped as the sound of metal against metal rang in their ears. They covered themselves, attempting to block out the ringing. They couldn't understand the sound. To each of them it was different. It sung their greatest fears and brought them to life. Those who had been standing fell to the ground, crying out as nightmares unfolded in front of them.

Piper watched as countless demons, figments of her fear, shimmered into the wreckage until they were all she could see. She heard her family screaming, but she couldn't move. She tried to reach them, but the demons held her back. Her sisters' dying moans echoed off the crushed walls. Piper yelled for them, but there was no answer. She heard Wyatt and Chris wailing for her until finally that died too. "No!" She shrieked falling to her knees.

Leo stared in awe as Wyatt, not the strong, independent soul from the future, but the dark, sinister, twisted version that haunted him in his nightmares, come walking towards him. Leo couldn't move. He couldn't even speak. "Father, you failed me." Wyatt said. Leo tried to explain to plead with him, but he body was stone. He could only watch as his son turned his back on him and disappeared into the darkness.

Future Piper knew immediately what was going to happen when she first heard the shrieking of the sword. She had heard rumors of the blade her sister used to scare the truth out of those she thought were spying on her. She had never heard it herself for which she was grateful. She prepared herself for the hallucination, trying to convince herself that none of this was real without really knowing if she was under the sword's magic yet. She waited for the scene to change in front of her, to morph into her greatest fear, but the ringing to the sword echoed in her ears and nothing else changed. Her past family was moaning as their fears were unfolding in front of them. Future Piper's mind was still hazy from the pain. She was just beginning to gain full control over her body again.

She eyed the criss-crossing shield of energy. She didn't need to be told who was behind the blood red mask. "Prue..." She began walking towards the shield. She stopped in front of it wondering how she was going to be able to get through it when suddenly it opened before her. She hesitated, knowing this could be a trap, but she heard a whimper she knew all too well from inside. Future Piper knew Prue would be torturing Cori with the memory of what the girl had done in the past. It was Cori's deepest fear that she was doomed to never escape her past and sink back into the monster she had been.

Future Piper growled and stepped through the shield as if closed behind her.

Prue, with all the showmanship she had displayed in her life, was a coward. She knew it. Her sisters would never believe her if she told them. They would argue that she was bravest person they had never met. They would cite the many times she had put her life in danger to save an innocent. They would attempt to prove to her that she had saved them as well, but Prue knew the truth. All those times, she had been terrified. She hadn't done those things to save the innocent. She had only done them to prove to herself that she wasn't afraid.

Fear had controlled Prue all her life, and it was controlling her now.

The legend of the Screaming Sword was one Prue had just learned in her recent trip to the Underworld. It was whispered about in dark corners in reverent awe. Most of the demons even doubted it had ever existed. She knew enough of the story and recognized the signs before really realizing what was happening. She cupped her hands over her ears as the ringing began. She closed her eyes and kept them shut fearing what would await her she opened them. She heard herself breathing heavily. It was several seconds before she realized that was the only sound she heard. She felt her hands shaking as she forced them away from her ears. She took a deep breath as she prepared to open her eyes.

Piper, not her sister as she knew her now but the tormented sister she knew from the future, stood over her. "You must choose." She said, holding out a long dagger.

Prue's mind was repulsed by the weapon, but her hand reached out and grasped its handle anyway. Prue stared at the dagger in her hand then at her future sister. She looked cold and hollow as if she were a cheap replication. Prue knew there was something she was forgetting, but she didn't have time to think as Piper's boot connected squarely with her chest sending her flying back into the rubble. Future Piper drew her own dagger and advanced on her.


	17. The Fear We Control

**This is a really quick update, but I'm just so excited for this ending. I love when a story writes itself which is what has been happening the last two chapters. I've been thinking about rewriting this story (because my writing has made leaps and bounds since I first started writing this story) and I want to get rid of some the of the inconsistencies in the beginning of the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I appreciate all the reviews. Keep it up!**

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><p>Phoebe had started to wake up in Paige's arms, and the youngest Charmed One knew it was time to start acting instead of sitting here uselessly. "Phoebe," she urged her sister and shook her gently. Phoebe gasped harshly and bolted up straight nearly knocking Paige back.<p>

"Prue..." she yelled hoarsely.

Paige forced Phoebe to look at her. Paige could see that her sister still wasn't fully coherent. "Phoebe, everything is...fine. No one's hurt, but we need to get out of here." Phoebe knew there was something wrong with what Paige was saying, but her mind was too jumbled to figure it out. "Can you stand?" Paige guided Phoebe to her feet. The middle Halliwell swayed when she stood, and her vision became clouded over with black dots. Within seconds though, the dizziness faded, and she could see the wreckage in front of her. She wished she had never opened her eyes.

The house was beyond ruins. The only walls that remained standing were the ones leading out to the street, but a strange dome of black, red, and white electricity dominated the remaining space of the Manor. "God..." Phoebe whispered. She saw two forms inside the shield. The black lighted figure she knew must be Cori, but she had no idea who the other one would be.

Paige ignored her sister's shock and instead focused on finding Piper. She had been standing in front of the kitchen door with Cori and her future self when the blast happened. She started in that direction when the ringing started. Both her and Paige covered their ears and searched for the source of the noise. Paige thought she could hear it coming from the shield, but before she could be sure, Piper was running towards her. Paige instantly saw there was something wrong with her. It looked like her sister, but her eyes were hollow. There was no emotion or love or anything in them.

"Get away from her!" Piper pushed Paige which caused her to trip over a small pile of rubble and fall to the ground. "She told me what you did. You were never my sister!"

Paige's eyes widened in terror. Her suspicions of her sister's appearance disappeared. "I didn't...I...Piper..." Paige knew her sister had found out that she would betray her in the future. A part of her was angry at Piper for only blaming her and not Phoebe and then for acting like this. But this was what Paige had always feared: the day that Piper realized Paige would never be able to make up for what they lost. Paige had abandoned Piper, and now Piper was going to leave her. "I would never..."

Piper glared at her. "You were never my sister," she repeated. "I only put up with you for the sake of magic. Prue should have never died. You will never replace her or be anything close to the sister she was."

"I...I don't want to...replace...Prue...Piper, please," tears were running down her cheeks freely. Her heart was aching to a point Paige knew she couldn't take this much longer. "I love you. Why are you acting like this?" She whispered.

"You will never be part of this family." Piper retorted. She grabbed Phoebe's arm and began to pull her sister away. Paige watched them leave, unable to move. Phoebe didn't put up a fight against Piper. Why should she?

Paige knew if it ever came down to a decision, they would always choose each other. She would never share the bond between them.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, but they were already too far away. She closed her eyes. The grief was overbearing. She couldn't face it. Not without her sisters, but they were gone now. Paige rolled herself into a ball and attempted to block out the world.

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><p>Prue dodged Piper's strike by rolling to her left. She felt Piper advancing on her again. She kicked her legs under herself which propelled her to her feet. "Piper, what the hell are you doing? It's me. Prue!"<p>

Piper swiped her blade through the air. Prue had to duck under her attack. "Piper!" she screamed again.

"Only one of us will live, Prue." Piper said. Prue heard something in her voice that hinted at an echo as if Piper weren't really there.

Prue cocked her head. "What are you talking about? We have to help Cori!"

"You have to choose." Piper brought her blade down on Prue, but the elder Halliwell used her own dagger to block the attack. She thrust Piper away from her.

"Piper, that is enough! What the hell has gotten into you?" Prue's mind was spinning. None of this was making any sense. Why was Piper attacking her? What had changed, and what did she mean that she had to choose?

Piper recovered quickly. She gripped the dagger in her hand tighter. Prue readied herself for her sister's attack. "Piper, I don't want to fight you."

"But you will." Piper added coolly.

"But I will." Prue repeated. Prue stared at her sister, one of the people she had missed the most. Piper was the reason Prue had done everything she'd done. She wanted her sisters to be safe from the endless fight of good and evil. She wanted to give her sisters the life that had been taken from them the moment they became witches. Prue had only ever wanted them happy. At least that's what she had told herself when she was conquering the Underworld. Looking into her sister's empty eyes, Prue saw herself, saw her actions, as they really were. They were evil. They were personal. She had done what she'd done for power, and she wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way. Not even Piper.

Prue's internal war raged. She could hear the whispering voice in her head telling her this was the right way. Piper made the choice to fight her. Now she would have to deal with the consequences. But a much louder voice, one she had heard all her life, told her that she could never hurt Piper. She was supposed to protect her. Piper was more important than anything, even herself.

Prue groaned as the warring sides of her seemingly tore her in two. She tightened her hold on the dagger and glared at Piper. Piper, or rather the figment of her, grinned cockily at Prue. "You always were weak, Prue. We could see it. All of us. Even now you're weak. You will die because of it. Love is weak." The echo that had been present in Piper's voice before amplified until her last words bombarded Prue's ears.

_I will not die_, Prue decided. _She will die. I will not be weak._

Prue suddenly realized what Piper had meant when she said Prue had to choose. Prue was going to have to choose between herself and Piper. She could let Piper kill her, or she could kill Piper. Her choice. The obviousness of the decision shocked Prue. It shouldn't be that easy to write off her sister's life at her own hands. A long forgotten part of her was sorry that it had to be this way. The words "I love you" were on the edges of her lips, but she choked them back. Words of passion had no place here.

Piper waited another moment before making her final strike. She ran at Prue, dagger raised. She was leaving her midsection completely unprotected. Prue rolled the dagger in her fingertips waiting for her sister to get close enough._ I will not be weak_, she repeated in her head. _I will not be afraid_. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for what she had to do.

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><p>Future Piper felt like she was in a daze. Her head was swimming as she was still recovering from her previous injuries. The movement of the shield, the feeling of floating caused by black fog that covered the inside of the dome, and the constant ringing of the sword all added to her disorientation. She stopped when she was inside the electric shield.<p>

Future Prue smiled at her sister, but the expression was lost behind her blood red mask. "Piper..." her voice was that of the snake in the garden. Prue knew she had won. All she had to do was strike the final blow and victory would be hers. No one would be alive who could challenge her. Once Piper and Cori were dead, it would be all too easy to kill Wyatt and Chris as well. The resistance would shatter. No one would ever stand against her again.

"Prue..." Piper looked for Cori. She almost couldn't see her niece because she was on her knees, nearly buried in the fog. Only her shining white eyes gave away her presence. "Cori..."

The faceless eyes groaned at the sound of Piper's voice. "It's...a trap...leave." Cori tried to talk through the voices in her head, but she couldn't even hear herself think. Their wailings were still loud in her ears. Whenever she opened her eyes, their restless, marred faces forced her to close her eyes again, yet, even behind her eyelids, their faces haunted her. She knew they were fake, mere images the sword conjured in front of her, but that did nothing to change their effect. She should have been prepared for this. She had seen her mother use the sword before. Cori thought by letting her evil take over she had finally conquered her fears.

Future Piper flinched at the sound of Cori's voice, but she could hear traces of the young girl behind the darkness. Cori was cracking. Whatever the sword was showing her, it was causing her tremendous pain. "Cori, it's not real. None of it. You have to see through it."

Cori heard Piper's voice. "No, it's real. It's them. All of them...I see them in my dreams, and now they're here."

Future Piper knelt down just a few feet away from the glowing eyes. She knew Future Prue was watching them from just a few feet away, but she refused to look at her sister like this. She knew enough of her sister to know that she wouldn't attack them now. She would want to enjoy their misery and drag it out as long as possible. Future Piper reached out her hand in search of her niece's shoulder. When her palm found her body amidst the fog a chill ran across Piper's skin.

"Corinthian, listen to me. You are not that person anymore. You didn't do this. You are good." Piper wanted to say more, but the ringing of the sword gave her words a sinister quality that forced her to stop.

Cori looked in the direction of Piper's voice, hoping she would see her aunt, but she only saw more beaten and bloodied faces. "They're everywhere." She said horrified. Cori covered her head in her hands and tried to block out their moaning again, but the more she fought them, the louder they grew. A new voice was added to the multitude, but it was one Cori would recognize out of a million. "Piper..." Cori's eyes shot open as she scanned her victims in search of her aunt. "Piper!" She cried louder trying to drown out the corpses' sounds.

"I'm right here." Piper yelled. She drug Cori into her arms. Her skin was ice cold against Piper's. Her niece began to thrash around in her arms.

"Piper! No, where are you? Piper! I'm coming!" Cori's movements became more sporadic, more terrified. "Piper, Piper, Piper..."

Future Piper gripped Cori with all her might, but her madness made it impossible for Piper to control her. She fell into the fog until it covered her vision. Cori's eyes were the only light around them. "Cori! Stop this! I'm right here. It's not real! You have to fight it!"

Cori didn't hear the Piper holding her in her arms. She only heard the agonized cry of the Piper in her imagination. She felt something holding her in place, and she fought against it with all the might her insanity would give her. "Piper! I'm coming!"

Future Prue watched the scene unfold. Her grin widened. This was even more perfect than she could have imagined. Piper and Cori were rolling in the fog. Piper's pale skin and Cori's white eyes gave away their location. The fog rolled around them, swallowing them completely one second, only to allow them to emerge a moment later. Cori was screaming for Piper who was clinging to the girl trying to calm her down. "She can't hear you," Prue said sardonically.

Future Piper ignored her sister. "Cori, baby, listen it's Piper...I'm here. Please, come back to me, Cori. Please..."

Future Prue chuckled and began to advance on the struggling duo. She was nearly upon them when she felt her legs becoming heavier. She growled and tried to take another step forward, but her legs were stuck.

Future Prue looked down in horror.

Her daughter's fog was clinging to her. Wherever it touched her legs, it hardened and crystallized forming a thick, stone casing. She was already covered up to her knees with the strange stone. She hissed. An energy ball formed in one of her hands. She trust it at the stone only to watch as the stone glowed red for a moment then absorbed the magic. Future Prue searched the mist around her for her daughter. "What magic is this?" She shrieked knowing her daughter couldn't hear her.

Future Piper heard her sister much closer than she should have been. "Cori, if you can hear me, listen to me. Whatever you're seeing, it's not real. You don't have to be afraid. I'm right here-"

But Piper's words were cut short as Cori let out an ear-splitting scream. The bodies had disappeared. Now there was only one person lying in front of her. It was Piper, bloodied and nearly dead. Her back was covered in large lash marks that exposed her bones. Her faces was contorted in the pain of death. "Piper!" Cori yelled, trying desperately to claw her way to her aunt, but again, something was holding her back. She turned her head to see what was weighing her down.

Her mother's face grinned down at her. "To save Piper, you have to get through me." Cori felt her mother's hold tighten on her.

"Let go of me!" she growled.

Future Piper only held Cori closer. "Cori, it's me. It's Piper."

But Cori's hallucination clung to her mind, keeping her in its firm grasp. Cori only heard her mother laugh in her ears. "Kill me then." Cori stared helplessly at her aunt. A large pool of blood already surrounded her. Her breathing was fast, too fast. Her hands reached out hopelessly to Cori. Her mouth was set in an agonized "O."

"I did this to her," her mother continued, "She will die, and when she does, then I will kill you."

"No!" Cori shrieked pathetically. She fought against her mother. "Please, let me go."

"Kill me!" Her mother yelled. Her words echoed in Cori's ears. Insanity held Cori within its thrall. She couldn't think or breathe. She only saw Piper's dying face, only heard her mother's dark words. She felt her fingers curve around something. It was the hilt of an athame. Cori screamed one more time before thrusting the blade behind her and plunging it into her mother's torso. She heard a surprised gasp and felt warm liquid trickling down her back from her mother's wound. The hands holding her back disappeared. Cori lunged forward immediately, but her arms only wrapped around empty air when she approached Piper. The fear-induced hallucination disappeared.

Cori stared around her in confusion. She was back in the Manor, back under the shield. Someone was gasping for air. Cori watched the fog roll over a body. It was another moment before the mist revealed the face. "No..." Cori moaned. "No, no, no, no..." She crawled back through the distance that separated her and her victim.

Future Piper stared back up lovingly at Cori. Her hands were covered in blood which poured freely from a wound in her abdomen. The hilt of a small athame stuck from her chest.

"Cori!" Future Prue yelled from her fixed position. "Cori, look at me! Get me out of this!"

The black-lighted armor that had been protecting Cori dissipated at the sight of Piper. Her eyes dimmed until they were their normal dark shade of brown. Tears ran freely down her cheeks. Future Piper's blood stained her hands. "I didn't...I didn't...know. I thought it was her. I thought...you were dying. I saw it...she was going to kill you...I'm so sorry." Her throat was already closing up from her grief. Her heart pounded in her ears.

Future Piper smiled at Cori. Her face was pale. Her eyes were clouded over in pain and exhaustion. That little gesture drained her even more, but her niece needed to know this wasn't her fault. None of it. "Corinthian Ruth Halliwell, I love you. None of this..." she coughed which sent waves of pain through her torso. She groaned and waited for the spasm to pass. "is your fault. Do you hear me? You are good. You are-" her voice trailed off until Cori couldn't hear her last words.

"No, Piper! No, please, don't do this to me. Don't leave me!" She screamed. "No, I can't do this without you. God damn it! You can't leave me! Piper, no!" Cori sobbed openly. She didn't care if Piper saw her like this. She only wanted her aunt to live. Piper shouldn't die. Cori had been fully prepared to kill her mother and end her own life before it began to save Piper. Piper was supposed to be happy. She wasn't supposed to die.

Future Piper frowned at Cori's words. "I love you," she said weakly, almost too quiet for Cori to hear. Her eyes fluttered then closed.

"NOOOOOO!" Cori wailed. She pulled Piper into her chest and began to rock her back and forth. "No, you don't get to leave me. Please, come back. Please, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Piper..." She buried her face in Piper's hair, relishing in the smell of kitchen spices and her rose scented perfume. Cori's chest closed off. She couldn't catch her breath. She groaned against the hurt. She couldn't think, couldn't move. The pain was overwhelming. She pressed herself as close to Piper as possible unable to let go of her aunt. Words were meaningless to her. Piper was dead. Everything was lost. She wouldn't be able to do anything without Piper. Piper was her refuge, and now she was gone. Her resolve was broken. Her mother had won.

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><p>Prue felt her blade dig into Piper's abdomen. She twisted the blade, making sure it would kill her. Piper's head was close to hers. "I will not die again, Baby Sister, whatever it costs. I will not die again." She whispered into Piper's ear.<p>

To her surprise, Piper laughed. "You already have."

Piper's body and the dagger in Prue's hand disappeared. Prue fell forward onto her knees. She looked around in a daze. Piper was nowhere. Prue's heart raced in her ears.

Her mind slowly began to clear. Her hands shook, and she looked at them horrified. "What have I done?" She whispered petrified. She clutched her head with her hands. The sword still whistled in the background, but it was no longer controlling. The last few minutes of her life played over and over in Prue's head. She had killed Piper. She had been a monster.

The voice that had convinced her to do the heinous act rested smugly in the back of mind. She moaned as more and more realization of what she had just done settled over her. _I killed her,_ she thought, _I killed Piper to save myself. There was no spell or magic. I killed her._

Prue looked at the shield that separated her from her future daughter and self. "There was no magic," she repeated. Disgust, so deep and passionate, overtook her. Prue had never hated herself more, but she had never known herself so well either. She knew what she had to do.

Prue stood up. She hesitated one more second before making her way through the rubble to the shield. She paused in front of it and held out one of her hands. She inhaled deeply. The electric shield cracked defiantly, but Prue held her resolve. She gasped when she felt the magic of the shield begin to conform to her will. She watched in amazement as the electric currents sparked and thrashed, making a jagged pattern to her hand. She felt the energy of the shield fill her, until she thought she was going to explode.

The entirety of the shield began to make its way to her palm where her skin absorbed it. She felt the new power course restlessly under her veins. Black mist cascaded from within the now broken shield. Prue's eyes widened taking in the scene before her.

Future Prue watched in grim satisfaction as her plan took form. If only she could move, but she didn't need to be close to Cori to kill her. She conjured another red and black energy ball in her hand, she raised it over her head to throw at Cori, when suddenly, the electric ball was no longer in her hand. It whistled through the air and attached itself to the shield. Future Prue hissed and glared at Cori suspecting her of some kind of trickery, but the girl was still sobbing over Piper's body.

The shield began to lose form and coalesce to a point just to her left. She glared suspiciously at the spot where her shield was disappearing to. She was caught off-guard to see her past self standing there, palm outstretched and crackling with the magic she had just absorbed. Future Prue threw her head back in laughter. "Just another moment, and I will be done here."

Prue's eyes landed immediately on Future Piper's dead body. At first, she thought it was her Piper, but Cori's reaction told her it wasn't. Prue ignored the spasm in her heart at the sight of her sister's blood and her broken daughter. It reminded her too much of her vision. Prue wanted nothing more than to comfort her daughter, but she knew the gesture wouldn't be accepted. She only needed one guess to know who was responsible for Future Piper's death. Prue glared at the future version of herself trying to find any resemblance between the monster she saw in front of her and the monster she saw when she looked in the mirror. She couldn't find any.

_It's the eyes_, she decided. _They're cold. Dead. Heartless._

An energy ball formed in Future Prue's hand that wasn't holding the sword. She grinned and threw it in Cori's direction._ This was it_, the deranged future Halliwell thought. _I have won._

Prue knew what her future self was planning. She raised her hand, the hand that had absorbed the shield, and a bolt of white lightening glistened from her hand. It caught the energy ball just before it was going to strike Cori's back. Both magics sizzled and sparked uselessly into the air. "No," Prue said glaring at her future self.

Future Prue cocked her head sideways, a mocking smile still present on her lips. Her eyes, as cold as ever, examined her past self. "No?" She said daringly. "I don't think you're in any position to be making demands."

Prue looked at her future self in confusion. Future Prue's hand extended into the air. Prue heard a gasp far to her right. Her eyes locked in on Piper, floating helplessly in the air, her hands clutched around her throat. Her eyes were glazed over in fear. She was still under the swords' magic. "No one is going to stop me," Future Prue stated darkly.


	18. Long Journey Home

**This was kind of a tricky chapter to write in that I was never for sure how this story was going to end. I hope it ended in way that does justice to everyone who followed from the very beginning (even through my two year hiatus) and those who sparked my interest in picking it back up again. I really love this story and feel like my writing has improved since it started. I think I'm going to work on a rewrite just to give this story what it deserves. As always, your critiques and praises are welcome, and, of course, JESUS SAVES. **

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><p>Corinthian clung to Piper. She shut out the world, closing her eyes and ears to everything happening around her. She could feel Piper's blood on her skin. She pressed her aunt's body against hers refusing to let go. If she let go, she would never get Piper back. She would be releasing any hope that her aunt would ever return to her. She couldn't will her arms to relinquish their hold. "I'm so sorry." She murmured over and over hoping that wherever her aunt was she could hear her.<p>

"You did everything for me," she whispered. The lump in her throat caused her voice to crack. "I tried to make it up to you. I tried..." but it wasn't enough. Corinthian saw that now. She saw the last few months of her life through clear eyes. This was the only way things could have ended. By refusing to kill her mother, Corinthian had forfeited Piper's life. Her worst fear had come true. She had chosen her mother in the end, and now Piper was dead. There was nothing left for her. She had no meaning outside of saving the world. Now that was impossible.

_No_, her grief and anger became a voice in her head. _You can avenge her. You can make this so it never happens._

"I can still make this right, Piper." She opened her eyes. Piper's bloodied face stared emptily back at her. To Cori, it seemed her aunt was smiling. This is what she wanted, Cori thought. "I'll save you, Piper. I promise. I love you." She kissed her aunt's forehead. A metallic taste filled her mouth. She lowered Piper to the ground. The fog had evaporated, but Corinthian didn't think about that.

She stood to see that her shield was gone. Red lined her vision. In the back of her mind, Corinthian knew she could harness the power she'd had only moments before, but she didn't want it. She didn't want any of her mother to be a part of her. She was going to prove that Prue couldn't control her forever. Her eyes found her mother instantly. The red lining her vision pulsed with new life as her anger flared.

She stared at her mother, trapped in the hardened mist and helplessly clinging to the power that wouldn't do her any good. "You killed her." Cori hissed.

Future Prue laughed darkly. "No, my dear daughter, you killed her. I merely provided the tools." She grinned. She could see in Cori's stance the girl was unstable. She would be reeling from grief that could be exploited. Future Prue only needed the opportunity. If Cori hesitated at all...

Corinthian growled and took a step forward. That's when she noticed her mother's outstretched arm. She followed her mother's limb until her eyes landed on her past aunt hanging in midair. "Let her go," Cori snarled. "This is between us."

Future Prue smirked, but her eyes subconsciously glanced at her past self. Too late she realized her mistake. Corinthian saw her mother's eyes shift to the left. She grinned when she saw the Prue from the past standing helplessly behind her.

Present Prue watched the exchange ready to assist Cori whenever the girl needed her. Her mind registered her own danger too late. Corinthian raised her hand in her direction and clenched it into a fist. Present Prue felt herself leaving the ground. An invisible force kept her arms at her side. She tried to struggle against it, but the magical grip was too strong. Her own magic squirmed resentfully wanting to unleash its power on whoever was keeping it captive. She could only watch as Cori turned back to Future Prue and wait. "I'm on your side," she whispered. "I want to save her too." Corinthian was only a few feet from her. Prue murmured the words where only her daughter could hear her, but the young girl didn't acknowledge that she had heard anything.

Corinthian did hear her past mother, but she refused to give into any more of her mother's lies. "Let. Her. Go." she repeated. "Or I kill her, and we all die."

Future Prue measured the hatred in her daughter's eyes. She pondered Cori's proposition for a moment then smiled wide. Though she was still covered in the blood red light, so the expression was lost to everyone else. "Brave words, but have you considered the consequences of such a...heroic act? There are rules, Corinthian. Rules that if broken," she opened her outstretched hand. Piper dropped to the ground. "bring down the full force of magic upon the perpetrator."

Corinthian didn't move. She made no attempt to let her past mother go. She knew this was just another one of her mother's ploys, but she was relieved that for the moment, her past aunt was safe. There was still a chance she could make this right. The sword, which was still whistling quietly, was in her mother's left hand. If she could get that away from her, her past family would be free from its power and could escape. Piper would be safe, and she could kill her mother once and for all. "Rules were made to be broken."

Corinthian tightened her fist. Present Prue whimpered as the magical grip compressed painfully. She bit back a scream as the pressure continued to build. Her mind blazed white in pain. She gasped for breath but couldn't inhale as her body was being crushed from all sides. Her vision was going black. Just when she thought her body was going to give under the pressure, the weight devolved back into it's original strength. She inhaled deeply. Within seconds, she could see and breathe easily again.

Cori smirked at her past mother's pain and turned back to Future Prue. "I think we both know I've got nothing to lose. You on the other hand, have everything to lose."

Future Prue cursed. She had hoped that when she let her sister go, Corinthian would have taken the bait and charged at her. She gripped the sword tighter in her hand. "If you kill her, Piper, this Piper, dies as well. You think that destroying the timeline only effects you? The results will be catastrophic. Are you willing to be responsible for Piper's death twice in one day?"

"Shut up!" Corinthian screamed. The reasonable part of her knew her mother was baiting her in, but that part of her was snuffed out almost instantly by her grief, guilt, and anger. She lurched forward, relinquishing the hold she'd had on her past mother and running towards Future Prue. Bolts of white lightning streaked from her hands aimed at her mother.

Future Prue raised the sword in the air in front of her. The electric currents cracked angrily but uselessly as the sword absorbed their power. She braced herself for her daughter's next attack. She realized all too much how vulnerable she was with her legs trapped by the crystals.

Corinthian hissed indignantly as her lightning bolts had no effect on her mother, but she kept to her advance. This time, she conjured her own sword: a long, simple-hilted katana. White and black energy coursed over it's silver blade.

The steel of her blade shrieked as the two weapons collided. The force jarred Cori's arms and momentarily knocked her off balance.

Future Prue was a lethal fighter, both magically and hand-to-hand, but her feet were set awkwardly in the crystal traps. When her and her daughter's weapons hit, the momentum sent shockwaves down her body. She fell backwards. The crystal prevented her shins from moving. She landed hard on her back. The sword slipped from her hand just out of reach.

Prue saw her opportunity. She lunged for the sword. The hilt burned her skin, but she refused to let go. She stood up gripping the hilt tighter. She could feel it scorching her palm, but she forced herself to hold onto it. The ringing grew until it was painfully loud in her ears. She wanted to cover them, but she couldn't let go of the sword. She had to make it go away some how or her family would never be freed. She stared at her other hand which still crackled with the energy from the shield.

She grinned and threw the sword in the air above her head. Lightning shot from her hand, hitting the blood red gym lodged into the sword. The metal shrieked then shattered. It's pieces fell to the ground silent.

Future Prue stared at the pieces of her weapon horrified. She turned her glare to her past self. "What have you done?" She hissed.

"I've already changed the future. I will not become you. I will not be a monster." Prue's words came from her heart, and she knew they were true. All this time her family had been trying to find the cure to some evil that had turned her, but they didn't know there was never any evil besides herself. She had become the monster in front of her by choice. She had given into the love of power. She had allowed herself to be consumed by it until there was nothing left of her. Leo had said a witch's resurrected soul was easily corrupted, but did that mean that there was no hope for her? Prue couldn't believe that.

The Angels of Destiny wouldn't have brought her back if she couldn't control the evil inside her. Prue had seen the future, and she knew she would never let it be that way.

"And yet...I'm still here." Future Prue chided. She smiled up at her past self. "With all your self-righteousness, I'm still here. I still exist. You haven't changed anything." Future Prue grabbed for a shard of the gym that had rested in the sword. The stone blended in perfectly with the color of her armor. She stabbed at black crystal holding her feet to the ground. With a shudder, the stone casing fell away. She freed her other foot then stood to face her past self.

Corinthian watched the exchange. She looked at the past version of Prue and saw the woman she had missed. She saw her mother and the love with which she had cared for them all, but Cori knew what those eyes could become...would become. The fact that her mother existed now didn't mean anything had changed. The evil inside her would still corrupt her. It would still kill Piper. Nothing could change that.

Cori flexed her hands over the katana. She knew what she had to do. Neither versions of her mother were concentrated on her. She was only a few strides away from the past version of her mother. She could end this all before it ever started. She could save Piper. She would.

Prue felt the last remnents of the shield's energy in her palm. She prayed it would be enough. She wished she could see her sisters one more time. She wondered why they hadn't come yet. Perhaps they were already dead or still under the sword's influence. She didn't know if her actions would change anything, but she had to try for them. She had to give them the chance of a life worth living. She held her palm to her chest. She could feel her heart beating there.

That's when she saw Cori running at her. _Good_, she thought, _if this isn't enough, she will end it for me._

Prue flexed her palm. She felt something hot hit her chest. She felt like she could fly. Energy coursed over her like never before. She felt free. The magic washed over her, only this time it consumed her. The last thing she saw before the darkness overcame her was Corinthian's wide eyes. She smiled as the world disappeared.

"NOOOOO!" someone screamed, but she was too far gone to be able to identify who said it. The last thing she remembered feeling was sorrow.

* * *

><p>Prue's chest ached. She couldn't move without jarring her injury, so she decided to lay completely still. She tried to remember anything, but her mind was blank. She only knew one thing: she shouldn't be alive. It hadn't been enough. The electricity from the shield hadn't been enough, and Cori hadn't been able to kill her. She was alive. She would still become a monster who murdered her own family for power. She was still evil.<p>

Prue wanted to cry for herself, for her family, for everyone she would hurt, but she couldn't. She tried to figure out where she was, but there were no sounds around her. Was everyone dead? Had her future self succeeded in killing everyone? Her heart sped up until it felt as if it were going to beat out of her chest. She tried to control her breathing, but her imagination was running wild. She had to know what happened to her family.

"Piper..." she coughed. "Phoebe...Paige...Cori..." her voice was weak and raspy. It hurt her throat to talk. She waited for an answer, but none came. She realized her eyes were closed. She attempted to open them, but a blinding light that sent lances of white hot pain through her head made her close them again. She braced herself this time, and opened them slowly. The light burned them still, but within seconds she could leave her eyes open. The ceiling was familiar. _My bedroom_, she realized._ Why am I in my bedroom? _

"Piper..." she croaked louder. "Phoe-" she turned her head when she heard hurried footsteps coming down the hallway. It was more than one pair. They're not dead, she breathed a sigh of relief. They're not dead.

"Prue," Piper was the first one around the corner. She knew they shouldn't have left her alone. Her sister's eyes met hers instantly. Prue was lying on her bed completely exposed from the waist up except where white bandages covered the area over her heart. Piper fell down beside the bed and wrapped her arms around her sister. Without knowing why, she started sobbing. "We were so worried we lost you again."

Prue frowned. She couldn't move without her chest burning or she would hug her sister back. Phoebe and Paige stood in the doorway for a moment before standing behind Piper. "I don't...I don't understand. Cori..." Prue's head was beginning to hurt. "What happened?"

Phoebe and Paige exchanged a look with each other, and Piper tried to control her breathing again. She sat back and looked into Prue's eyes. "You tried to kill yourself, Prue."

Prue nodded. "I wanted to save you. If that meant dying then that's what I had to do." She didn't know why she felt like she had to justify her actions to her sisters. It was the only way she thought she could protect them. She felt guilty though that she would have left them again. Yet she knew they would have been better without her.

"After you broke the sword, we were all freed from whatever spell it had us under, but it was weird." Piper broke her gaze with Prue to turn to her other sisters. Both Phoebe and Paige shook their heads.

"It was like we could see what was happening between you, Cori, and...you, but we couldn't do anything about it," Paige said. "I tried to run to you, but my feet wouldn't move."

Piper nodded turning back to Prue. "You placed your hand over your heart, and I could see it in your eyes what you were going to do. I knew I was going to lose you again." Piper reached out her hand and gripped Prue's. "The last thing I remember is seeing you fall...and then everything was...gone: the rubble and all the future people. You were bleeding so badly. We thought you were dead, but Leo was able to heal you enough to keep you alive."

"I still don't understand." Prue whispered. Her throat was getting more sore the more she talked. Her headache was getting worse, and she could feel herself slipping back into unconsciousness.

"Neither do we." Phoebe said. Prue looked at her, and she could see her sister meant it. That only confused her more.

A breeze swept across the bedroom. The sisters watched as the air coalesced to form a white-gowned woman. "Halliwells," she breathed. A smile crept across her elegant features.

Piper stood defensively over her older sister. "Why are you here?" she hissed.

"Piper," Prue croaked.

The Angel raised her hand. "At ease, Young One. You want answers, and I have them."

The sisters all exchanged glances except Prue who kept her eyes on the Angel. Each second that passed by was another second closer to her losing consciousness. The Angel's smiled widened. "You have accomplished the task we hoped you would. The future is saved."

The Charmed Ones' eyes brightened. "You mean..." Paige said.

"Yes, everything is as it should be...for now." The Angel never took her eyes off Prue. The eldest Charmed One felt like the woman was digging into her soul trying to find any trace of impurity or evil. Prue didn't back away from her gaze. She accepted the woman's scrutiny because while her body ached, her soul had never felt more whole.

"What do you mean 'for now'?" Phoebe questioned.

"I mean that the future is made of our choices, all of our choices. You learned that the first time you went to the future, where you were burned at the stake." The Angel finally broke her gaze with Prue and turned to the other sisters. "You've changed the future more than once, and yet it seems to always need saving again and again. Our choices decide our futures. If you were to begin to slip again, the future will reveal that. By being willing to sacrifice herself, your sister broke the chain. She started down the path of righteousness again, but that isn't to say she, or any of you, will never fail again. We have entrusted you to keep each other on the narrow path. The Angels have intervened to save the Design, but now it is up to you. We can no longer impede on free will. The future is yours now...to save or to destroy."

"No pressure, right?" Paige chuckled trying to lighten the oppressive air in the room.

The Angel winked at them. She smiled at each one of them but held Prue's eyes the longest. "Blessed be," she breathed disappearing back into the air. The sisters remained silent for long moment's after she left. Prue was almost asleep again, when Phoebe's voice woke her.

"What do we do now?"

No one answered immediately. Finally, Piper spoke. "We do what we always do. We keep protecting the people who can't protect themselves, and keep fighting for the ones we love."

"And wait for the next time we have to save the future? Because Cryptic Angel over there made it sound like we've got a lot of that left in us." Paige groaned at the thought of having to go through this again.

Her sisters laughed at her. "But we have each other." Prue said. "And we know what can happen now. We have to be on guard, against evil and against ourselves. We have to be careful."

"Woah," Phoebe grinned. "I think I'm having deja vu. Wasn't that the speech you gave us when we first became witches?"

Prue smirked and stuck out her tongue at her sister. Piper moaned. "What?" Both Prue and Phoebe said in time.

"I'm going to have to be the middle sister again, aren't I?" The three sisters smiled at each other. They each remembered how things had been before Prue's death. Phoebe and Piper had never been able to replace the relationship they'd had with Prue. Until now, they hadn't realized what a big hole their sister's absence had left in them. Now, it was beginning to fill again.

Prue noticed Paige standing just barely separate from the rest of them. "Paige," she whispered. Phoebe and Piper both looked at their younger sister. Paige's cheeks got hot under her sisters' speculation. She knew this was her first real chance to get to know Prue. She remembered how much Piper had hated her in the beginning because she thought she wanted to replace Prue. How much more would Prue hate her for taking her place in the Power of Three? Would she know that Paige could never replace her, that she never even wanted to?

Paige stepped forward. Prue attempted to raise her arms, and held back a whimper as the motion jarred her chest. "You don't have to..." Paige looked at her eldest sister's arms. She could see the pain the movement was causing her.

"I want to," Prue finished. She beckoned Paige in. "Just be gentle." She smiled.

Paige inhaled nervously but did as Prue said. This was so different than the first time they met. There had been so much more going on besides this moment. Now it was all Paige could think about. She leaned into Prue's hold. She tried to not touch her chest at all. "I watched you grow to be a great witch and sister. Thank you for taking care of them, Paige. You are my sister, and I love you."

Paige blinked back tears. "I love you too."

Piper and Phoebe smiled and reached out to their sisters. The four of them stayed like that until finally Prue fell asleep. The other three curled next to her on the bed. They knew it wasn't over. The Angel had made it clear that there were still battle to be fought. Prue would still need their help. She was still susceptible to evil, but they were prepared now. They could save her, and she could save them. Family came first, always.

* * *

><p><p>

**2023 CHANGED FUTURE**

The doorbell rang, but before anyone had a chance to answer it, the door burst open. "I'm home!" Prue shouted. She hung her jacket on the coat rack. "Piper? Phoebe? Paige?" She called to her sisters. "We're here!"

Phoebe's head popped out of the kitchen door. "Prue!" she exclaimed. Her hair had taken on a golden-silver sheen. Light wrinkles underlined her eyes which defied time and still shined like that of a child's. She bounded across the Victorian house into her eldest sister's arms. She backed away enough to look her in the face. "You're getting old," she joked.

Prue rolled her eyes. "Where's Piper and Paige?"

"They're in the kitchen. I'm the welcoming committee. Where's Cori?" Phoebe peeked around her sister's head.

"She's getting some things out of the car. So...everything's ready?" Prue asked.

Phoebe's expression became strict. "Yeah, we're all ready. Are you?"

Prue sighed. "No, but we have to do this. Piper did it with Wyatt and Chris. They have to know. We can't risk anything like that happening again."

Phoebe nodded. The sound of light footsteps coming up the stairs caused her eyes to shine again. "Cori!" she said as her niece walked through the open door.

Corinthian grinned at her always boisterous aunt. "Hey, Aunt Phoebe." She dropped the bags she was carrying and allowed her aunt to smother her in one of her bear hugs. Phoebe took her niece's face in between her hands. "It's like looking at your mother all over again."

Cori rolled her eyes in exact imitation of her mother just moments before. "Yeah, I know. I've heard it all my life. So what's this big surprise that you guys have for me on my most prestigious eighteenth birthday?" She picked the bags back up and carried them into the living room.

"Well, you know Piper made chicken and dumplings. Our gifts are all upstairs, but," Phoebe shared a look with Prue, "first, you should come into the kitchen."

Cori looked quizzically at her aunt. "Okay," she agreed skeptically.

"Good," Phoebe wrapped her arms around her niece's waist and led her into the kitchen. Prue waited a moment before following. She inhaled and exhaled deeply. She told herself it had to be this way. Cori had to know or they risked it happening again to their children. It was a blessing that no one remembered the future in the way Chris had when her sisters had changed the future the first time, but the sisters knew that they needed to tell their children the future in which they could have had. Wyatt and Chris had taken the news hard. It had taken days for the boys to believe them, but now they knew. Now, they were doing the same with Corinthian.

There was no way to know how her daughter would react. Prue remembered the dark expression in her other daughter's face, the one who had risked everything to save the future. The one who had given her and the rest of their family a second chance. That Corinthian had been willing to kill her and die herself to save the world. She hoped, in time, her daughter would be able to forgive her. She hoped that they would never have to see each other like that.

Only time would tell.

Prue turned around. The stained-glass door was open letting a cool spring breeze blow in. Prue breathed in the sweet air and raised her wrist. The Victorian door swung closed. She followed her sister and daughter into the kitchen to begin to explain the tale of the young girl who had saved the world.

* * *

><p><strong>God bless everyone. I hope that you enjoyed the journey. You do only live once, so make every moment worth what it costs you. <strong>


End file.
